Of Lavender And Blue
by GoodGurl
Summary: CHAPTER 12: Miyako finally lets go of Ken...what? Hey final chapter! My first ever Kenyako fic in Digimon. Sorry for the long wait everyone! Please rr! Thanx!
1. Of Lavender And Blue

Author's note: Hi, this is my first time writing a fic for digimon. Well, actually, i attempted one, but i put the wrong one. Anyway, this is a Kenyako story, idealing on how they got together. Enjoy! Oh, Ken and Miyako are in college.   
  
Of Lavender And Blue  
  
Chapter 1  
  
  
  
It was a wonderful morning in the town of Odaiba. The sun peeked through her window and woke her up from her beautiful dreams. Miyako stretched and yawned under the sun's gaze and finally opened her eyes slowly. With one tired arm, she reached for her glasses from her bedside table and put it on carefully. She desperately needs a pair of glasses. She wanted smaller ones, as the glasses she has worn almost all her life were much bigger. With one more stretch, she sat up from bed and stood up slowly, tiredly shifted her legs from the bed and on to the floor. She glanced at her watch and gasped.   
  
"Oh no!" She grabbed her alarm clock and stared at it. "You stupid alarm! Why didn't you work?!" She dropped the clock on the bed and quickly took her towel hanging at her door and went inside her bathroom.   
  
Once done, Miyako dashed out of the bathroom and changed into purple long sleeves and black capris pants. She dried her hair, braided it, grabbed her backpack and went downstairs to fetch her bike out of the shed. Her brothers and sisters were already gone. She waved good bye to her parents and climbed on to her bike. Hopefully the Professor would understand.  
  
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Runing out breath now, she dashed through the hallway and went inside her expected classroom. English. She stopped by the door and looked around her. Other students stared at her. The Professor looked up and continued his lecture, without even bothering to acknowledge her presence there. 'Great! First day in college and the Professor already hates me!' she thought. Slowly, Miyako made her way to one of the empty seats at the very back. She sat down and took out her english binder with the pen already inside. She looked around the class. She didn't know anyone there. Only an empty seat beside her made her wonder who would be sitting there. Maybe they're late too. She placed an elbow on the table and rested her chin on her upward palms.   
  
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He was very confused. Where was he? Ken scrathed his head confusingly. Odaiba was definitely a confusing school. Even the colleges! Scowling, Ken glanced at his schedule, whereas he kept watch at the numbers of the rooms. He wished some of his friends were there so he could be shown around Odaiba. Finally, after a few minutes of being late, he sighed a breath of relief when he saw the number he was looking for etched at the top of the door, at the very end of the hall. He opened the door slowly and blushed a crimson red when the students watched him. The Professor glanced at him once, then returned to his lecture. Students whispered to each other. Obviously, they knew who he was. Ken Ichijoujii, the boy genuis. He took a deep breath and looked around at the seats. There he spotted an empty seat next to a pretty girl with glasses and braided lavender hair. This girl ignored him the whole time. She was paying attention to the lecture the Professor was giving. He ran a hand through his now short blue hair and sat down next to her, glancing once and while at the girl beside him. He knew her. Could it be?  
  
Ken leaned closer. "Miyako?" he whispered.  
  
Miyako was startled. She almost jumped from her seat and finally recognized who was sitting there beside her. She was too busy listening to the Professor that she didn't realize who was there. "Ken?" she whispered back. She lifted up an eyebrow and eyed him suspiciously, not really sure if it was him. When she finally recognized him, she touched his arm and smiled. Ken blushed at their interaction. He turned away shyly, turning his attention towards the Professor.  
  
"I didn't know you were here?" she whispered silently.  
  
Ken shrugged. "Well, we moved here this summer. I got accepted here in Odaiba College, because I thought it was interesting. They had all the requirements I needed. Back at my old home, the colleges there didn't have any of those so...."  
  
"You moved here," Miyako filled in. "I'm glad you did." She smiled again.  
  
Ken blushed. "You are?" He looked at her.  
  
Miyako turned away and blushed furiously. "Well, yeah I am. I mean you're my best friend...."   
  
Ken was surprised. He never had a best friend, maybe except for Daisuke, but they lost touch. He felt really bad when he didn't call back when they talked over the summer. He didn't have the courage to tell her that he was moving closer to her. That was the only time they have spoken since elementary school. "Uh, Miyako?"  
  
"Shh...." Miayko placed a finger to her lips and leaned closer to him. "We'll talk later."  
  
Ken nodded obediently and listened intently to the Professor, casting glances towards Miyako with all the chance he got. She had changed a lot. Her hair was more pink than lavender. He could tell she trimmed it. Ken remembered the exact height of her hair. It reached her waist, but now it was a little above it. He noticed the changed in her eyes. They were more smaller and intriguing. Ken used to be shorter than her, now, he was more taller than the lavender haired girl.   
  
Miyako looked at Ken with the corner of her eyes while paying attention to the Professor's speech. He definitely changed since elementary school. His hair was cut and more shorter than her last encounter with him. It didn't reach his shoulders like it used to, but it still had a wave to it. Blue as always, his hair colour was still the same. There were days that Miyako was taller than Ken, now, he had grown much taller than her. He had become a very handsom teenager.  
  
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The first class was done with. The pair left the large building and made their way outside for a walk. Ironically, they didn't have any classes until three o'clock. They took the exact same classes together, except that Miyako had her computer class, while Ken had his athletics class on fridays. They walked down to the beautiful garden. Miyako showed Ken around Odaiba, introduced the people she knew who went to college there and walked around town to show him where all their friends used to live. They had all moved away and Miyako felt sort of alone when they did. It was until Ken moved here that she felt safe.   
  
When she was done showing him around, they sad down underneath the tree. Miyako leaned her back on the tree and placed her books down on the ground. Ken kept standing, putting his hands in his pockets and looking at the people in the streets.   
  
"Ken?" Miyako suddenly asked after a long silence.  
  
Ken looked down and waited for her to continue.  
  
The lavender haired girl took a deep breath, then finally looked up. "What were you going to say in English 101 today?"  
  
Ken's heart thumped. He sat down beside her and blushed lightly. He kept his eyes away from her, afraid to look at her for what he was about to say. "I'm sorry I never talked to you this summer. I didn't want to tell you that we were moving."  
  
Miyako leaned forward and pulled back her legs upto her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs and looked at Ken. "Is that why you never phoned me back those two months?"  
  
Ken nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry."  
  
Miyako smiled. She thought she was the reason he never called back. She placed a hand on his arm and grinned. "It's okay. I'm not mad."  
  
"You're not?" He met her eyes.  
  
"Nah. I'm sure you were too busy moving anyway, with all the stuff and all and having to adjust in the city. I've been there." She leaned back on the tree. "When I moved here on the first day, I never spoke to my friends back to where I came from because I was too overwhelmed to even speak to her, so don't feel bad. I understand." She closed her eyes and felt the cool wind blowing small strands of her hair. She heard the birds chirping and wondered what they were talking about. Miyako dreamed that the birds were speaking sweetly to each other. Maybe someday her and Ken would be doing the same thing. Talking sweetly, not chirping. She laughed at her own inside joke and stopped suddenly when she realized Ken was still there. She opened her eyes and blushed.  
  
Ken liked her laugh. It was a wonderful laugh, but sometimes he wished he could hear it more often. Without another word, he moved to the opposite side of her on the tree and leaned his head back. They were now leaning opposite of each other, each one thinking of their future.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: This is my first Digi-Fic, so please bare with me. Anyway, we all know what their future will be like. I hope you all would read and review this. It would be nice! Thanx!   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Reflection

Author's note: Hi! With the majority of votes to continue this story, I am willing to do so! Thank you so much for the reviews! I am so glad you took all the time to read this! Thanx again! Oh.... Digimon characters such as Miyako and Ken are.... blah! blah! blah! you get the point, but Hanako and other characters are mine!!!!!!  
  
  
  
Chapter 2 - Reflection   
  
  
  
She smiled. All worries were behind her, now that Ken had moved to Odaiba. They spent the rest of the day talking about what their plans were to be after they graduate. Miyako adjusted her backpack and removed her glasses from her face. She wiped it with her shirt and put it back, the smile never leaving her face. Her heart soared everytime she let her mind wander to his face. His smile, his eyes, his hair and every feature that she remembered was still there. He hasn't changed a bit, except for his height. There were times that Miyako had to look down to speak to him when they were standing beside each other, but now she had to look up to meet his eyes.   
  
When Miyako arrived, she opened the door and wheeled her bike to the shed. She unlocked the door and found her brothers and sisters gathered in front of the television. They all looked at her, her face flushing. One of her sisters, (sorry, I forgot her name - I'll make one up), Mayumi, noticed her flushed face and smiled, waving her hand at her younger sister to come join her on the couch.  
  
"Hey, Miya! We're watching a very funny movie! Come join me here!" Mayumi yelled, underneath all the laughing voices of their siblings.  
  
Miyako shook her head and tapped her binder in her arms with her long fingers. "Sorry, Mayumi! I have homework to do and I have to meet Hanako for a project we started in Quantum Physics." For that, she left the living room and walked up the stairs, leaving Mayumi and her siblings looking at each other.  
  
Her excuse was not a lie, really. She really did have to meet Hanako, a red headed girl who had more sugar in her blood than she ever had. Hanako moved in the neighbourhood, in the summer and Miyako has been her friend ever since. It was true she promised to meet with Hanako, but the project of the Quantun Physics.... the real excuse underneath... there was nothing. She just didn't want to watch Weekend At Bernie's again. It was getting old and she couldn't understand why her siblings still found it funny.  
  
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"So... who was that guy you met in English today? I saw you talking to him after class in that very romantic tree!" Hanako mocked, laughing. Miyako reached over to punch her playfully in the arm, but the red headed girl only dodged it. Miyako flushed in embarrassment.   
  
"Shut up, Hanako!" Miyako said, smiling. She took a sip of her milkshake and avoided Hanako's eyes.  
  
Hanako looked at her and folded her arms on the table. "I've seen him before!" The red head blinked and dropped her mouth open, finally realizing who the guy was and snapped her fingers together. "Ken! He's Ken Ichijoujii, isn't it???"  
  
When Miyako didn't look at her, Hanako knew she was right. She laughed, realizing her friend's coyness. "He's really cute! I can't believe you haven't asked him out yet!"  
  
That thought came into Miyako's mind. How is she suppose to ask him? He might have a girl friend and if she did ask him, she was afraid of his rejection. She didn't want to scare him away, since most guys are afraid at girls who admit their feelings for them. There was a difference between genders. Males wait for the right moment, but when a female tells her feelings for him, guys would often get scared away. That is what Miyako was afraid of. She sunk low on her seat and sighed. She was too scared to admit her feelings. In fact, she wasn't sure what she felt. Sure, she had a crush on him since she can remember, but this... this was different. The feeling was more deep and intellectual. This feeling was more personal and she wasn't about to tell her friend about it, eventhough she was her best friend. She placed an elbow on the table and rested her head on her clenched fists. It was a feeling that whenever he walked inside, her mind would only revolve on him and ONLY him. Her heart beat at every second when he sits beside her. Usually, she would blurt out how much she adored him, but that was childish crush. She was young and she didn't know what she was saying or thinking. This was love. A love she has never felt before towards Ken. In elementary school, she had a crush, but now... at the age of eighteen, Miyako truly felt love.   
  
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"Ken-chan!" She ran as far as her feet could take her, almost dragging her leather backpack behind her. She jumped in his arms and wrapped her skinny arms around the teenager's neck.  
  
Ken smiled down at her. "Hey, Akira! How was the trip?" He leaned over and kissed the dark headed girl on the cheek.   
  
Akira shrugged. "It was fine I guess!" Akira Matsuki was a wonderful girl. Ken adored her. He met her while visiting his Uncle in America over the summer. They have never seen each other since they were infants and that was the time Ken actually talked to her. His father always told things about Akira that interested him. His father and her father were very close friends, until Mr. Matsuki moved to New York to start a new life. Both of their fathers always kept in touch. Mizumoto married an American woman, Eliza and had a daughter named Akira. Eliza died when Akira was only four, leaving Akira and her father by themselves. Akira and Ken kept in touch as well, ever since each knew of the other. This was Akira's first time visiting Japan. She didn't speak Japanese all that well, but her father taught her enough to understand some of the things Ken and his parents say to each other. 'Chan' was her first word that she used with Ken's name.  
  
Ken picked up her suitcase she dragged with her and released his arms from around her. "Ready?" he asked.  
  
Akira nodded. She smiled, ran her fingers through her hair and followed Ken out the door, where the night air was cool and frigid.  
  
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Darkness consumed the area of downtown Odaiba. Miyako noticed people her age begging the security guard to be let inside the opened clubs on Friday nights. Girls hugged their boyfriends, or rather, dates with shining eyes. Miyako felt a touch of envy, but shrugged it off quickly. She rounded the corner and opressed the urge to breathe in vile smell of the sewers. This area she was walking through was the poorest suburb in downtown. She often saw people saw teenager, as young as thirteen, puffing cocaine in their noses. Usually, none of the teenagers hanging out in the alley ways, bothered with her. If she didn't care, they wouldn't care either. She glanced at her watch. It was a quarter to eight now. Her curfew was seven-thirty. Miyako took a deep breath and walked faster. She only had to turn another corner, when something caught her eye. A car was in front of her as she walked in the sidewalk and she paused. Inside the Mazda Miata, sat an eighteen year old, purple haired teenager. A pretty girl with long, straight, dark hair sat at the passenger seat. Ken glanced up at the girl and said something that made the girl laugh. The girl touched his arm and said something and they both laughed together.   
  
Miyako felt a sting of tears. She thought she could stop by at the Ichijoujii residence to tell Ken how she felt. It didn't matter whether he got scared away or not, she would still tell him, but the scene in front of her changed her mind. She gripped the book in her hands tighter and closed her eyes. She had to stop walking so the lights would turn green and force Ken to drive away without seeing her.   
  
When the lights flashed green, Miyako was relieved to see Ken press the gas and drove off, back to the neighbourhood where he moved to. When she was sure that he was gone, she fast walked to her home into the night, feeling as if her heart has been broken into millions of pieces, where nothing, not even if Ken says 'i love you,' could glue the pieces back together.  
  
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That night, in her bed, Miyako tried to hard to close her eyes and sleep, but her mind kept replaying back to Ken and that girl with him. She tossed and turned, kicking her feet under the blanket. That girl was pretty. Very pretty.   
  
Giving up, Miyako sat up from bed and removed the blanket from on top of her, grabbed her glasses from the bedside table and went to her mirror hanging at the top of the dresser. Firstly, she looked at herself without her glasses. Then, she reached down and put her glasses on and looked at her reflection again. She did that for a couple of seconds, putting her glasses on and off and checking what the difference was.   
  
"That girl was pretty," Miyako whispered to herself. "She doesn't have goofy glasses like I do...." She sighed. "I- I guess we messed up, didn't we Miyako?" she asked, talking to her reflection in the mirror. She put her glasses back on and took a long deep breath. "I guess that girl deserves Ken. I'm too... I'm too ugly....." Tears escaped from her eyes at the mention of the word. Her heart torn, her face now covered in sadness, Miyako slammed her hand down so hard that her palms turned red and laid her head down on the dresser, whimpering in depression for the first time. She let her body sink lower into the ground and crawled back to bed, where she rested her head on the pillow and cried herself to sleep.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: I had a bad day and that bad day made me depressed! I wanted to make Miyako depress as well, since that's what all teenagers go through. Anyway, thanx all for the good reviews! I finally took your advice and continued with the story. I actually thought about continuing it before!   
  
*Note: Don't hate Akira yet... I haven't really revealed who she REALLY is, so calm down! I needed to add a conflict, which all stories have. It's the weekend on the next chapter and Miyako is learning to cope with the loss of Ken with the other girl.   
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Before The Confrontation

Author's note: Hi! Here's the third chapter! See what happens to Miyako after seeing Ken and that *shudder* girl from America!   
  
  
Chapter 3 - Before The Confrontation   
  
  
  
"Are you sure it was Ken?" She sipped a little portion of Moccha and looked at her friend sitting on the other side of the table. It was Saturday afternoon at the Storm Cafe. The streets were busy and the stores inviting, begging the pedestrians to walk inside and buy something. Miyako watched as a woman pulled her daughter away from the windows of the toy shop. The little girl cried, but the woman slapped her hand and lifted her up in her arms.   
  
Miyako nodded. "I'm sure it was."  
  
Hanako looked at her, still unwilling to believe. "It can't be, Ken!"  
  
The lavender haired girl glared at her. She lifted her cup to her lips and drank a minimum amount of the iced tea. Unlike Hanako, Miyako didn't like coffee that much. She nodded, reluctantly. "Yes it is, Hanako," she replied, slightly getting annoyed. She looked around her. There was a couple sitting at a booth, holding each other's hand and kissing every chance they got. Miyako grimaced and turned away, but only to see another couple holding hands and sipping coke from the same cup. Anywhere she looked, there was a happy couple around her, as if it was a sign for torture. She glanced at Hanako and frowned. "Is it just me, or are people getting together these days?"  
  
Hanako looked around as well and snorted. "Let's say it's just you."  
  
Miyako frowned.   
  
"What? What is it?" Hanako looked behind her. A young man with a beautiful girl walking in beside him, entered the Cafe, laughing and enjoying each other's company. Hanako leaned closer to Miyako. "That's her?" she whispered.  
  
They both watched as Ken and the girl sat down to a booth four or five chairs away. Ken called for a waitress and a bouncy haired girl appeared to their table. Angry at herself for not telling him sooner, she stood up, carefully covered her face so that Ken wouldn't see and ran out the door.   
  
"Miyako?" Hanako called, realizing she had gone and noticed her run out the door. Hanako grabbed her jacket from her chair and ran after her.  
  
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"So.... you doing anything tonight?" she asked, placing her elbows on the table.  
  
Ken blushed. "Well.... I was going to call this girl and-"  
  
Akira's eyes widened. "Really? Is this the same girl you keep talking about on your letters?"   
  
Ken looked away, avoiding eye contact with her. How can girls ask things so casually? He sighed and turned to face her. "Well.... yeah."  
  
Akira smiled and nodded. She leaned back on her seat and folded her arms across her chest. "Well, my favourite cousin! It's time that you ask this girl out on a date. How long has it been since you saw each other?"  
  
Ken rubbed his neck shyly. "Well, um.... we did talk in the summer, but only for a little bit, so the last time we saw each other was when we were.... ten?"  
  
"You have got to be kidding me!" Akira slammed both her hands down on the table, attracting everyone's attention in the Cafe and smiled. She threw her hands up at her sides. "Then, what are you waiting for?"  
  
The teenager shrugged. "I don't know. I'm afraid I could get rejected."  
  
"Ken-chan! This girl has had a crush on you all her life and you knew that! Why don't you at least try? If she rejects you, tough! It's her loss that the cutest guy in college asked her out and rejected the offer!"  
  
Ken laughed. Akira encouraged him so much. She was the one who taught her many things about girls while he was visiting her in America in the last few weeks of summer. He actually met one girl, thanks to Akira's help, but Ken told the girl, who will be named Anonymous, he had feelings for someone else. Ken regretted it, but he knew it felt right. Miyako helped him through many situations in the Digi World more than any other girl could.   
  
"I'll try when I see her again in school," Ken replied, smiling to himself. He was proud that he was planning on doing this. Ken has tried so hard to fit in, after being the Digimon Kaizer. Daisuke was the first to treat him as a friend, but Miyako treated him more than that. It seems that Miyako showed him more than just friendship, but more compassion and trust. Even if Miyako chose to deny it, Ken saw that she was doing it for love. He wasn't certain, but it was there.  
  
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"What are you doing, Miyako? I'm not even done with my moccha drink yet!" Hanako complained. She followed Miyako cross the busy street and across the playground. The apartment where Miyako lived in was only another road to cross and Miyako looked like she is in a hurry to go home.   
  
Miyako paused at the front door upon arriving and closed her eyes, resisting the urge to cry. She leaned forward and rested her head against the door. "Why didn't I tell him, Hanako? Why am I so scared?"  
  
Hanako placed a hand on her shoulder and sighed. "You're just not ready to tell him, that's all! In time, you WILL tell him and you WILL be ready!"  
  
Miyako nodded. She removed her forehead from the door and unlocked it, opening it once she heard the clicking sound. None of them said anything as Miyako entered the living room, while Hanako closed the door behind her and followed her friend. Miyako sat down on the couch and turned on the television. That was the time Hanako sat down beside her.   
  
They were silent, until Hanako, who couldn't take it anymore, finally spoke. She turned to her friend and laid her head on her shoulder. "Miyako.... don't let youself down. I think Ken knows that you care for him."  
  
"Not really. He knew that I had a crush on him, but not.... IN love with him....." She blushed, realizing how much she said and stopped herself from saying anymore.  
  
Hanako laughed. "Hey, I'm your friend! Don't be too shy about to admit it! I know you love Ken!"  
  
Miyako blushed even more redder. "OKay, okay! I get the point! Stop announcing it to the world will ya?!"   
  
Hanako grinned. Without her friend knowing, Hanako reached behind her and grabbed the pillow she was leaning on. With one swift move, she slammed the pillow at Miyako's face and quickly stood up. Miyako was surprised. She removed the pillow from her face and found Hanako standing up and backing away.   
  
"Hey!" Miyako yelled, trying to contain her laugh. "You're going to pay for that Yamaguchi!" Miyako warned. She grasped the pillow between her fingers and ran after her. Hanako turned around and began to run away from her. Hanako was a fast runner, therefore, she outran Miyako as she arrived at the kitchen area. By the time Miyako got there, Hanako was already gone. With the pillow in her hands, Miyako looked around for her friend. As she turned another room, a pillow was suddenly slammed in her face, then she heard a laughing sound. Miyako quickly retaliated, jumping as fast as she could to stop Hanako from running away and slammed the pillow to her face, smothering her with the square shaped, feather pillow. The fight was soon engulfed in a massive destruction of feathers all over the floor. Sounds of pillow smacking was heard. Miyako and Hanako were consumed in the excitement of it all. Miyako completely forgot all her concerns about Ken and that girl. All her worries were left behind. But how long will it last? Monday would soon come and Miyako would have to face Ken, including that girl, alone. This was her fight now. It was her fight for her emotions and for Ken's heart.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: Ech! I know its corny, but hey I did it! I made the chapter short too, but I'm too tired! Anyway, please r/r! Thanx! Oh.... okay I told you there shouldn't be a reason to hate Akira. Did you notice why? I won't tell ya, you should know by now, since I revealed it already!   
  
  



	4. Runaway

Author's Note: Once again, fanfiction was being a pain in the ass, but at least they got the chapter upload running! Here is the fourth installment of the chapter you've all been waiting for. Enjoy! ^_~   
  
  
  
Chapter 4 - Runaway   
  
  
  
  
  
Another Monday. Another day to see the handsome Ken sit beside her and smile his best smile. Miyako closed her eyes, shaking her head gently to get the image out of her mind. She wasn't going to cry over him. She couldn't! She wouldn't!   
  
"Hey..." Hanako's voice jumped her out of her reverie. Miyako looked at her friend and gave a slight upturned smile. She wanted to talk to Ken, but not with that girl in the way. "Are you all right?" her friend continued.   
  
Miyako nodded. Her attention was suddenly placed upon Ken and the girl as they walked through the grassy courtyard. She sighed, turning her eyes away from them. Hanako turned her face around and grimaced at the sight of Ken and the girl walking side by side just laughing. Ken looked their way and smiled at Hanako, but the girl just snubbed him, jerking her face like he was the most disgusting creature she has ever seen.   
  
  
  
  
Ken was surprised. For some reason, the girl whom Miyako befriended seems to hate him. He doesn't really know her, but she was in his Quantum Physics class, along with Miyako.   
  
"Go on and ask her already!" came Akira's voice.   
  
Ken looked at her, expecting a voice of confidence from his favourite cousin. She was usually the one who gave him advice on girls, but here she was, pushing him to ask her out. But Ken was too nervous to do that. He stepped forward, towards the table where Miyako sat, took a deep breath and stepped back. "I- I can't do it!" Ken stammered, glancing at Akira.   
  
Akira placed her hands on his shoulders and sighed. "You just have to try, Ken-kun! You just have to!   
  
  
  
  
"Uggh! Look at them!" Hanako fumed.   
  
Miyako looked to the direction and swallowed hard, trying to suppress the whimper from her throat. There they were. Akira had her hands on Ken's shoulder, saying sweet nothings in his ears. For a moment there, she thought she blew into his ear. She dared not look, so she turned her attention on her books and her lunch.   
  
Hanako kept watch, like a good friend she is.   
  
  
  
  
"Hurry up, Ken! I can't just stand here and wait for you to ask her out! I'm famished!" Akira said, pushing him gently towards the table.   
  
Ken turned around and nodded. "All right, how about we get something to eat first!"   
  
Akira shook her head. She placed her hands back on his shoulders, turning him around to face her. "No, you're going to ask her out today while I'm still young!"   
  
The blue haired young man sighed. There was no point in arguing with her. She always won in their arguments, no matter how wrong she was. Akira suddenly laughed.   
  
Ken looked at her, furrowing his eyebrows. "What's so funny?"   
  
Akira hugged him quickly and kissed him on the cheek. "Sometimes I wish you weren't my cousin, you know? If I was Miyako, I would probably snatch you up myself! You are SO adorable when you're nervous!"   
  
Ken blushed. "You- you would?"   
  
"Have you noticed how all the girls have been staring at you as they passed by today? I think they still recognized you as Ken Ichijoujii the boy genius!"   
  
Ken nodded slightly and glanced at Miyako, whom he caught staring at him and then turn away as he looked at her. Something was going on here.   
  
  
  
  
Hanako grimaced. "Uggh! Can you believe that? She hugged him! That slut!" She slammed a hand down on the table, startling Miyako. She grinned when she noticed Miyako glaring at her. "What? She did! I think it's time you kick the girl's butt!"   
  
Miyako closed her eyes in irritation. Did Ken notice her stare at him? She wasn't going to do it again and catch him staring at her. She took off her glasses and rubbed the top of her nose gently. Why was she so tired? Oh yeah, that's right! She couldn't sleep last night because her brother was playing the music too loud and the fact that she was doing her homework! 'Well, serves me right for cramming!' she thought. She put her glasses back on and stood up, scooping up her things in her arms. She can't watch them do this to her! She can't look at him! Her love was more than a crush, but it was deep love. A love where no one can get out of. A love that brings joy in her heart. She wished Hawkmon was here to relieve all her fears and problems.   
  
"Hey, Miya! Where are you going?" Hanako called, watching her friend head back inside. She knew she wanted to be alone, so she stayed there, worry masked on her face. She was worried for her. She was worried for Ken. She didn't want to hate Ken, but if he hurts Miyako that way, she had no choice but to hate him. Why didn't Ken tell her that he had a girlfriend? This would've saved Hanako's trouble of worrying about Miya's feelings. Hanako rolled her eyes and shook her head. 'Guys!' she thought. 'Can't live with 'em! Can't live without 'em!'   
  
  
  
  
"Look! Now she's leaving! Go after her!" Akira pointed to Miyako as she opened the door back inside the building. Ken was shocked. Why does it look like she was avoiding him? Akira pushed him roughly this time as he faced the door a few feet away from him. "You are going to ask her out and you are going to ask out NOW! I'll wait here!"   
  
Ken nodded finally and took a deep breath. This was it!   
  
  
  
  
"Miyako!" a deep voice called. Miyako wouldn't dare look at who it was calling her. She felt footsteps step in beside her as she walked. Unfamiliar shoes were the feet wearing and unfamiliar scent of cologne were on the voice's shirt. Miyako had no choice but to look up at the unfamiliar, but recognizable face of a handsome young man with short brown hair. He was carrying about a hundred yellow papers in his arms. Miyako stopped, startled by the young man who approached her. She was trying to remember who he was.   
  
The young man placed a hand on his chest. "It's me, Cedrick Shagizzi. I sit beside you in Chem Class!"   
  
Cedrick... Cedrick.... Oh! Miyako nodded, finally remembering who he was. She recognized him all right. She always thought he was nice and cute. Cedrick was kind enough to introduce her to Sophomores. Although she was a Freshman and he was a Sophomore, it seems like it didn't matter to him. Cedrick was taking Chem Class for two years. This was his last year there and he would move on to another class for the next two more years. It was odd how he could take only two classes, two for four years. Wouldn't he need more courses to graduate? He must be really smart to take only two classes.   
  
Miyako nodded. "Oh! Yeah, Cedrick. I recognized you. Sorry, I thought you were someone else."   
  
Cedrick laughed. It was short, but Miyako kind of found it cute. "Yeah, everyone always thinks I'm someone else. Maybe even Ken Ichijouji." He noticed Miyako's eyes widened. Cedrick stopped laughing and cleared his throat. "Anyway... here." He handed her a sheet of the yellow paper he was holding.   
  
Miyako looked at it.   
  
"There's a party tonight at my friend's house. I know it's Monday and I know you might be busy for homework and stuff, but this is just a yearly thing. He really wanted to have a party on his actual birthday so...." Cedrick looked at her, expecting an answer.   
  
Miyako studied the paper and looked up at Cedrick. She smiled. "All right. I guess there's no harm in having a good time. I'll tell my friend!"   
  
Cedrick smiled. "Great! I guess I'll see you there tonight!" He turned and began to walk away. He waved at her. "Ill see you!"   
  
Miyako waved back. "Bye!" She stared at the paper. She didn't have any homework. She finished them a few days ago. This could be her chance to get over Ken and move on with her life. This party could give her a chance to meet new people and maybe get to know Cedrick better!   
  
  
  
  
"What happened?" Akira watched as Ken walked towards her.   
  
Ken shrugged, frowning. "I guess she doesn't want to talk to me, if she wants to talk more to Cedrick than me. I don't get it? Why is she angry with me?"   
  
Akira arched an eyebrow at his younger cousin. "What do you mean? She's mad at you?"   
  
"I don't know, but it seemes like it. I know she's avoiding me, Akira!"   
  
Akira frowned. She linked her arms with his and led him towards the direction of the cafeteria. "Her loss, then! I think she'll need some time. You said so yourself, all her friends did abandon her and I think she's just overwhelmed by college. All freshmen are overwhelmed with their first years here."   
  
Ken nodded. She was right after all. He was overwhelmed by the enormous colleges in Odaiba as well, but it didn't give her the reason to be angry with him. He had a feeling it had nothing to do with college, but it had something to do with Akira arriving here. He has to talk to her!   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: Uggh! I know! I know! You're all must be confused or... something other than that. Ken! You better talk to him! Oh yeah, he will, don't worry! Anyway, I'll see ya later! Please r/r! ^_^


	5. Restless

Note: Sorry for the long wait everyone! I've been sooo busy with my school work! Anyway, here's another chapter for all of you Kenyako fans to enjoy!  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 5 - Restless  
  
  
  
"A party?!" Hanako's eyes widened in amazement. They were invited to a party at the Coleman House, which moslty consisted of the Seniors in Odaiba College! She scanned the paper again, making sure it was all true in front of her. She sat down on her bed and glanced at the bathroom door where Miyako disappeared to. "So... we are going, right?"  
  
Miyako opened the door to the bathroom and paused by the doorway. She was dressed in a short, spaghetti strap black dress that reached above her knees and black strapless four inch heels. Her long lavender stayed in place and her face were coloured nothing but pink lip gloss and a tiny bit of shiny eye shadow above her eyes, the kind that you buy cheap at a boutique. That was the dress she saw Miyako carrying in a plastic bag when they were walking home from school. Hanako kept wondering what it was and now she knew the truth. The dress was for the party and Miyako had thought about going ever since she found out.  
  
"What do you think?" Miyako twirled around, the dress fluttering around her. Hanako stood up and jumped up and down like an excited little girl who has just opened her Christmas present.   
  
"Awesome! Let me get changed!" Hanako opened her closet and reached for something from the hangers. Miyako watched her.  
  
"What are you doing? Aren't you dressed already?" She notied Hanako's tight black flares and her cute green spaghetti straps that made two cute frills above her shoulder.   
  
Hanako looked over her shoulder and shook her head as she took out a baby blue dress from the closet. "What are you talking about? This thing that I'm wearing? You gotta be kidding me! I wouldn't be caught dead in this outfit in front of Senior college guys!" She took the dress with her, pushed Miyako gently out of the way and closed the door behind her.   
  
The lavender haired girl's eyes widened. Seniors? She knocked on the door. "Wait a minute! You mean it's a Senior party?!"  
  
"Yeah!" Hanako answered from the other side of the door. Miyako could hear her taking off her clothes and unzipping the back of the dress. "Didn't you read the invite carefully?"  
  
Miyako frowned. "No....." She turned around and reached for the paper lying on Hanako's bed and scanned it through once more. At the bottom, the dorm room they were having the party to was the Coleman House. Nothing suspicious there. "It doesn't say it's a Senior's party!"  
  
"It doesn't, but the Coleman House tells us that it is a Senior's party!"   
  
Miyako sat down on Hanako's bed in disbelief. How could she not see that? The Coleman House is a Senior's dorm! "How do you know?" She heard the door open as Hanako stepped out. Miyako glanced to her right and saw Hanako fixing the front button of the dress. The dress had the same lenght as Miyako's, but instead of spaghetti straps, it had long, bell like sleeves. It had three buttons at the top and underneath the last button was a knot that you either had to tie or not if you wanted your cleavage revealed or not at all. Miyako smiled in satisfaction and handed her the shoes she wanted Hanako to wear with the dress from the closet. She handed her red headed friend her black knee high boots.   
  
Hanako took it from her friend's hand and sat down on the bed beside Miyako. "Remember Riker James?" she said, as she put on her first boots.  
  
Miyako nodded. Riker James was half-American, half-Japanese, born in Washingto, D.C. His father was American while his mother was born Japanese. They're both divorced and Riker stayed put with his father in America, while his mother went home to Japan along with Riker's little sister, Sakura. He kept in touch with his mother and sister of course. During his trip to Japan, his father, Clyde James died when the plane crashed by the place where everyone believed to be the 'Bermuda Triangle.' Riker had no other relatives to live with in America, except for his aunt and uncle, but they already had kids and they didn't want to take care of Riker. Besides, he looked old enough to be transfered in college in Japan. And that's what he did. Riker got transfered to Japan and now lives with his mother and sister in a nice apartment complex near Odaiba college. "Yeah, I remember him," Miyako replied after replaying the knowledge about Riker in her head.  
  
"Well, you knew I went out with him, right?" She was done putting on both her boots as she stood up and looked at herself in the mirror that was hanging at the opposite side of the wall.   
  
Miyako nodded.  
  
"One night he took me into the Coleman house. He wasn't a Senior or anything, but he told me the Coleman house was a Senior campus. He said he knew a friend there who was in college so I went along and we were invited inside his friend's room." Hanako looked at her friend.  
  
"You and Riker went to the Senior campus without telling me?" Miyako looked hurt.  
  
Hanako rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Miya! It wasn't like I knew you or anything." She smiled. Hanako knew Miya was just joking around. She sat down beside Miyako. "Are you ready?"   
  
Miyako looked at her friend. She noticed Hanako was only wearing a shining lip gloss too and shiny eye shadow. Both of them didn't like makeup that much and she was glad. Miyako pushed her glasses further up her nose to keep it from sliding off her face and stood up. "Well, let's go then!"  
  
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"Hi! You must be Miya. Cedrick keeps telling me about you!" He shook her hand. The girl standing in front of him was attractive enough, despite of the glasses that she wore. They were round, which didn't fit right. He couldn't believe Cedrick liked this girl.   
  
Miyako studied the boy. She had shaken his hand, but she felt a strange vibe coming from him. The looks he was giving her was strange. His look was mostly a sneer rather than kindness. When he left to be with other people, Hanako leaned closer and whispered something in her ear that she couldn't quite catch. The music in the background was playing too loud for her. People were screaming and dancing, adding to the commotion in the campus. She looked at her friend and gave her a puzzled look. She didn't understand what she was saying. Hanako rolled her eyes and pulled her inside a room and closed it behind them.  
  
"Who's Cedrick?"   
  
"The guy who's hosting this party!" A loud booming voice startled the two girls from their conversation. They turned their attention on a large master bed. A young man and woman peeked their heads out from under the blanket and grinned at them. The young woman rolled her eyes and pulled the young man back under the blanket. Hanako and Miyako ran out of the room before they could hear anything that they refused to hear.   
  
"Hey you guys! Where have you been?" Miyako turned around and saw Cedrick there, holding a bottle of tequila in his hand. He seemed to have noticed how she looked, because as Cedrick saw her, his eyes widened in surprise. "Wow, you look great Miya!"  
  
Miyako blushed. "Well, it's just something I put on." She fixed her eyeglasses once again.  
  
Cedrick smiled. "Whatever it is, you look beautiful." He gave her another smile before walking pass her to go to the kitchen, down the hall. Hanako looked at her friend.  
  
"You just got over Ken and now you're going for an even cuter guy?" Hanako said.  
  
Miyako shook her head. "No. Cedrick is just a good friend."  
  
"So was Ken."  
  
Was..... Is that even the tense she wants to use on Ken? No, she thought. This night, I will forget all about Ken and have a good time at this party.  
  
"Earth to Miya!" Hanako waved a hand in front of her friend.  
  
Miyako jumped out of her trance and glanced at her friend. She blinked a couple of times, before realizing they have been standing there for a few seconds now without doing anything. A faster music played in the background. Hanako grabbed her friend's hand and dragged her to the dance floor, an obvious floor in the living room where most people were dancing. Miyako was surprised with this at first, but as she got into the beat, she had forgotten about everything that has been going wrong with her life.  
  
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"This will spice it up!"   
  
"What? You can't do that! Are you sure she's a virgin? I mean, look at what she's wearing! She's practically looking like a whore if you ask me!" She slapped the bottle away from him.  
  
The young man gave his friend a hard glare. He shook his head angrily and grabbed the fallen bottle from the table. He poured it down on the drink. "Don't worry. Until tonight, she won't even remember a thing once she takes a drink of my special recipe."  
  
The quiet young man, who has been standing by the fridge for a few minutes now, folded his arms across his chest and walked over to his friend. "What special recipe?"  
  
"Hey... you like this girl or what?"  
  
"I like her, but she's the type of girl who's hard to get!" He waved his hands in the air and slapped them hard on the counter. The girl standing between the two flinched at the impact.  
  
"Stop that," she said quietly.  
  
He glanced at the girl dancing with her friend. "I'll say. Look at those large spectacles she has on. You can even look through a speck of dust just putting them on. I don't know what you like about her dude, but I'll do anything for a friend of mine."  
  
He hesitated for a moment, then finally smiled at his good friend. "All right. Just give her a few drinks until you're sure she won't remember anything until tonight."  
  
His friend shook his head and waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah! Just go and keep her occupied for awhile, all right? I still need sometime."  
  
He rolled his eyes. "Fine!" With that, he turned around and headed towards the direction of the dance floor. He wasn't sure if this was such a good idea. He liked Miyako, but he couldn't help but wonder if she liked that Ken Ichijoujii more than him!   
  
"Well, Ken...." he said to himself. "After tonight... you won't ever have her."  
  
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Ken laid on his bed. He couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about Miyako and the way she was treating him. Was it something he said that made her avoid him?   
  
"Hey!" Akira plopped down on the bed beside him front first and gave her cousin a large smile. "What's up?"  
  
Ken glanced at her, then continued to stare at the ceiling. "Nothing..." was his curt reply.  
  
Akira rolled on her back and leaned closer to Ken. "Look, you have to stop obsessing over this girl and-"  
  
"I'm not obsessing!" Ken hissed. He gave Akira a sneer before turning away from his cousin on his side to face the window. "Just leave me alone for now, all right Akira?"  
  
'You're acting like such a child, Ken Ichijoijii! I don't know why you're fuming over this whole Miyako thing! If she can't stand the sight of you, then get over it and move on!" Akira got up and stared down on him, planting both her fists on her waists.  
  
Ken twisted his whole body around angrily. He was surprised to be looking up at Akira from bed. "I can't Akira! Don't you understand?!"  
  
Akira sighed. She sat down on the bed and frowned. "I understand, Ken. I'm sorry for yelling at you."  
  
"No, you don't. You have no idea how much I've liked this girl. I mean this girl was practically in love with me in elementary school and I got to know her over the years before we got separated from each other. She helped me through troubled times and I... I fell in love with her." He sat up and leaned his back on the wall. He looked at Akira, expecting her to laugh for making a mushy speech about his love for this particular girl.  
  
Akira moved over beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. You're right, I don't understand. But I know how it feels to have someone you love just reject you because of something that you don't know what you did. That is just hard to let go. What you have to do is talk to her."  
  
Ken sighed and rested his head on top of hers. "Well, I would right now, but she's at a party right now."  
  
"Really?"  
  
Ken sighed. "Yeah. She was invited by Cedrick at this birthday party over at the Coleman Campus."  
  
Akira looked at him. "What?" Ken gave her a puzzled look.  
  
"What do you think?" They looked at each for awhile, until Ken got the idea.   
  
He pointed at himself. "Me? I'm not going to a stupid party!"  
  
Akira stood up, went around on the other side and pulled Ken up on his feet. "It's not a stupid party! It's just something for fun! You and I are going to go and you'll find Miyako and I'll go dance or something." She opened the door, while pulling her cousin and they stepped outside, despite Ken's hesitation and his obvious refusal on the party.   
  
Ken kept quiet during his cousin's abuse and let her pull him outside, where the September breeze were the coldest. Good thing he was wearing his thick black jacket with him and his black pants. The night was dark, but he could see lights from the windows of all the dorm buildings while his cousin was pulling him. Two girls passed them, giving them strange looks before turning to their direction with books piled high in their hands. A large gust of wind ruffled his hair. Akira stopped pulling him after awhile, gasping for breath and let Ken walk behind her while she led the way. She knew where Coleman was. When she was bored waiting for Ken to finish class, she was studying all the campuses around Odaiba College.   
  
After a few minutes of walking, they stopped and stared at the large sign just posted at the front of a large rich-like building which read, "Coleman." They could hear music playing inside and silhouettes of dancing people walking pass the regular sized windows. Ken stood there, wanting to change his mind. However, before he could do so, Akira took his hand and pulled him inside the building.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: Hi! Hi! I need feedbacks PEOPLE!!! please? Uh-oh! What is Miyako getting into now? Stay tuned! 


	6. Truth Be Told

Note: Hi! Sorry for the long wait. We last left off Miyako and Hanako being invited to a Senior's party. Of course they go, but who also goes to the party? Yes, that's right, Ken and his cousin, Akira! Without knowing it, Miyako is about to embark on a dangerous journey she has never been to... meeting a ruthless Cedrick who plans on getting her drunk and sleeping with her. Where will it go from here?  
  
  
Chapter 6 - Truth Be Told   
  
  
"Come on!" she yelled through the noise. He watched her disappear somewhere in the screaming crowd. He could smell alcohol in the air and the beat of the music shaking the floor underneath his feet. Flashes of light beamed around him and music and screams filled the open air. He craned his neck higher up to see his cousin above the heads of the people and she appeared no sooner later with her eyes all a glow.   
  
"This is such an awesome party!" she said, excitedly. She grabbed her cousin's hand, but Ken only pulled it away from her grasp. He looked at her as if he never wanted to be here in the first place.  
  
"Why did you bring me here, Akira? You know she won't be here," Ken retorted. "Miyako is not the type of person who goes to these kinds of parties. Besides, we have a test tomorrow for English. She usually studies for tests the day before."  
  
Akira tapped the end of her toes on the tile floor, as if she's heard it before and rolled her eyes. "Then, how do you explain her?" She pointed to someone behind him.  
  
Ken looked at her and glanced over his shoulder towards a familiar red headed girl drinking tequila in a wine glass. She picked one up from the counter and turned, only to come face to face with the one person she thought her friend will never see. Hanako raised an eyebrow curiously and walked up to him.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she sneered, with pure disgust in her voice.  
  
Ken had had enough of this. What was her problem anyway? "Do you have a problem with me? Because everytime I say 'hi' to you, you look at me like you hate me."  
  
Hanako rolled her eyes. "Isn't it obvious? What about her?" With her pinky, she pointed to the girl standing beside him. She tilted her head back to take a drink of her tequila.  
  
Ken glanced behind him and looked at Akira, then turned his attention back towards the red head. "Yeah, what about her? She's my cousin. So?"  
  
Hanako almost chocked on her drink. "What? Your cousin?"  
  
Ken nodded and arched an eyebrow towards her. "Yes, she's my cousin from America. She'll be staying with me for one week, why?"  
  
The red head placed a hand on her forehead, as if she was coming down with something and looked around, confusingly. "Cousin....cousin...." she mumbled. She drank the last portion of her drink, then placed the wine glass back to the kitchen counter and walked pass the tall, blue haired boy.   
  
Ken looked at Akira, before finally deciding on following the confused Hanako.   
  
  
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"Wow... this drink is pretty strong," she commented, staring at the glass in her hand. The golden colour, a mixture of brown and yellow swirled inside like a whirlpool and welcome her with shining eyes. She couldn't resist the taste. It was calling to her, forcing her to take another drink. Her mother warned her never drink any alcohol, because it made her seemed different somehow. 'Well, she's not here anymore,' a voice whispered in her head. She shrugged and took another sip, leaving the drink a quarter in the glass.  
  
Cedrick watched her consume almost all the drink and with a sheer cry of victory in his head, he watched her smile and then laugh. "What's so funny?"  
  
Miyako shook her head. What was so funny? "I don't know...." she giggled. She placed a hand on her mouth to stifle the giggle, but she began laughing louder again. "I find something so funny." Cedrick handed her another glass and Miyako greatly took it from him. She downed it in one gulp.   
  
Suddenly, Miyako's stomach didn't feel right. She was ready to throw up. The lavender haired girl began clutching her stomach and looked up at Cedrick innocently. "What was in that drink?"  
  
Cedrick looked at her. "Are you all right?"  
  
Miyako shook her head. "No. I better get going." She stood up, but Cedrick grabbed her arm and gently pulled her back down.   
  
Cedrick wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Maybe you should take a rest on the bed. You don't want to walk in the middle of the night stumbling, do you?"  
  
"No, I'll be fine. I have a friend who can take me," she replied. She stood up, but this time, Cedrick did not pull her back down. Instead, he kept his arm wrapped around her shoulders and began leading her towards the bed beside them.   
  
"I insist. My room mate won't mind you staying here for the night. I mean, your friend will probably be drunk as well. You both don't want to stumble in the dark, do you?" He laid her down on the bed, with Miyako protesting weakly.  
  
The lavender haired girl kept her eyes opened, but only halfway and shook her head slowly. Cedrick was right after all. There was a chance that Hanako could get drunk, because that's how she was. "No," she whispered. She felt a hand moving to her feet and removed her socks one by one. Miyako lifted her head slowly and looked at Cedrick. "What are you doing?" she asked, sleepily.  
  
Cedrick glanced at her and smiled. "I'm just going to remove your socks, all right, Miya?   
  
Miyako nodded, thinking he was only going to remove her socks. What was the harm in removing socks anyway? She felt the same, cold hands moving up higher, pass her legs, then towards the strap of her dress. Miyako opened her eyes wide and felt her whole body shiver from the cold hands.  
  
"What are you doing?!" She pushed him off of her. She was suddenly alarmed.   
  
Cedrick advanced towards her, this time, climbing on top of her and began trapping her between his body and the bed. He put all his weight on top of her and closed her mouth to prevent her from screaming. Miyako kicked and screamed, but Cedrick was too strong.   
  
"I'm having a time at the party, aren't you?" He grinned evilly towards her. He removed one strap of her dress and moved on to the other. Miyako opened her mouth and, instead of screaming, she bit his hand. Cedrick screamed and let go of her mouth. Once he removed his hand from her mouth, Miyako screamed at the top of her lungs.  
  
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Ken heard it. Was that Miyako? "Did you guys hear that?" He glanced at the two young women behind him. They were all searching for a sign of a lavender haired girl with a spaghetti strapped dress. Akira went looking for her at the bathroom, Hanako at the dance floor and Ken at any rooms she could be in. They met up just seconds ago where Ken was ready to check out the north hall of the large room. He looked ahead of him towards a single door in front of the kitchen. He wasn't sure if it was the room he heard the scream from.   
  
Akira and Hanako looked at him. The music was far too loud for their ears to listen to what Ken just said.  
  
Ken, without bothering to repeat, walked away from them and headed towards the single door. He pressed his ear at the door and heard someone mumbling. Then...  
  
"Someone...please... help... me..."  
  
"Shut up, bitch!" the other voice spoke, his words stinging Ken's ears. Then, heard a slap coming from the same room.   
  
The female voice whimpered silently, but Ken could hear it. Unsure what to do, Ken opened the door, which was surprisingly unlocked and walked in.   
  
  
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"No...." Miyako mumbled. "Please... don't.... Ken....."  
  
Cedrick leaned closer and began kissing her lips, hard. "Ken's not here."   
  
Suddenly, he felt a pair of hands on his shoulders. Cedrick glanced behind him and noticed a tall, blue haired freshman.   
  
"Oh, Ken's here all right!" the young man hissed. He clenched his fists and, for only a second, pulled the older teen from Miyako and pushed him. Cedrick fell backwards on the floor and quickly got up and tackled the surprised Ken.   
  
They landed on the floor with a 'thump!' sound, surprising the people at the party. All eyes looked down on the fighting duo, some releasing gasps and shocked faces as they watched on. The music stopped playing and the only sounds they could hear were the breathing sounds of the fighting men.   
  
Cedrick turned Ken around so he can face him and punched him across the face, leaving Ken a bloodied lip. He took another swing, but this time, Ken blocked his face, catching the flying fists in his hands. He gripped Cedrick's clenched hands and, with the other hand, he pushed Cedrick off of him with as much strenght as he could. People began gathering around them, none even bothered to stop the enraged older teen, afraid they could get caught up in the mess.  
  
Ken stood up, wiping the blood off the corner of his mouth with his arm, his eyes kept alarmed at the man standing in front of him, ready to strike at him once again. Some people, even those who knew who Cedrick was, chanted some things to Ken to punch him. But Ken just stood there, waiting for him.  
  
The older teen stared at him with malice in his eyes. He stared into the eyes of the young man who was going to take Miyako in bed, but he couldn't have that! He wanted her! He leaned his head back, ready to tackle the boy down again, when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Surprised, he looked behind him towards a young woman, much prettier than Miyako, smiling at him. Cedrick forgot all the anger in his voice and turned around to face her. He grinned.  
  
"Hey baby..." he said.  
  
The girl's smile suddenly faltered, replacing it into a serious frown. With one hand, she clenched her fists, pulled back her hand and struck the younger teen in the nose. Cedrick lifted up his hand in his bloody nose and collapsed on the floor.   
  
"Don't you ever hit my cousin like that again!" Akira hissed, walking away from him to join Ken.  
  
Ken watched her walk pass him, his eyes widening in astonishment. "Wow, Akira... I had no idea you were so...."  
  
"Enraged and darn well temperamental?" Akira said, finishing the sentence that Ken couldn't continue.  
  
Ken shook his head. "No... strong."  
  
Akira chuckled.  
  
"Hey, I need help here," a weak voice spoke. Ken and Akira looked up. Hanako carried a very drunk Miyako out of the room. The lavender haired girl had her arms draped over her friend's shoulder and was groaning every time she took a step. People who had gathered around the fight earlier, moved out of the way so the girls can walk easily towards the cousins. Miyako kept her eyes locked on the floor, ashamed of what she had almost done to herself and the trouble she caused towards Ken. She was ashamed for running away from him, without asking who the girl was. Hanako had told her that Akira was, after all, Ken's cousin. She was ashamed for not looking into the facts. She just had to put her foot where her mouth is.  
  
Ken was immediately at their side. He lifted Miyako's other arm, but stopped himself. He looked at Hanako and nodded. "It's okay, I got her," he said.  
  
Hanako nodded and gently removed her friend's arm from around her shoulders. People watched them quietly. No music played in the background, no sound of tapping shoes as they danced on the dance floor. It was just them, doing what they needed to do. The red head watched Ken lift Miyako up in his arms. He looked at her and nodded again, telling her that he was ready to leave.   
  
Ken walked pass the crowd and looked down on the unconsious Cedrick. He sneered down on the body and walked out of the room, followed by Akira and Hanako.  
  
  
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He stared out the window. The rain. Rain poured madly outside. The sky was crying, as if crying for what happened tonight. He couldn't help but sigh at that thought. It cried when Sam died and it cried when he thought Wormmon disappeared from his life forever. It cried when he whipped the Digimon as the Digimon Emperor and forced them to work in the rain. He removed his eyes from the rain, afraid that if he looked at the rain long enough, he would remember all the awful things he did and all the horrible things that happened to him.   
  
He heard a groan somewhere and Ken looked down on the still body of the lavender haired girl. Ken gently placed a hand on her small ones and stroked the back of her hand with her thumb, comforting her with warmth and kindness.   
  
A soft tap on the door interrupted him from his reverie and he looked up to see Hanako walking towards him. The red head smiled and stood beside him. "You should really go to sleep," Hanako suggested.  
  
Ken looked up and smiled. "It's okay. I'm not tired anyway."  
  
Hanako placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry too much about her, Ken. She'll be all right and before you know it, she'll be up and back to her old ways."  
  
Ken felt his heart soar. It would be good to have the old Miyako back, the one who encouraged everyone in the gang to fight and never give up. The same Miyako who slapped him across the face when he was ready to give up hope about the Digidestined forgiving him. He wanted the same Miyako who had a crush on him ever since and the one who almost squeezed the life out of Poromon when she felt happy. He couldn't help but smile at that thought. Miyako was the first person he wanted to see when he moved to Odaiba. For now, Miyako needed rest. Hanako was right, he needed rest too.   
  
He stood up, keeping his eyes focused on Miyako's face. She looked so peaceful. "You're right." He looked at Hanako. "You will keep an eye on her, right?"  
  
Hanako laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "Of course I will! She's my best friend for goodness sake!"   
  
Ken nodded, looked at Miyako one more time, then left the darkness of the room, where the lamp only held the light, right at Miyako's bed side.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: Sooooo??? What do you guys think? Its so obvious why Ken didn't hit Cedrick! He has the crest of kindness for goodness sake! And besides... I don't like too much violence anyway and I don't like promoting it! Anyway........... I hope you guys enjoyed this! Please r/r! Thanx! ;) 


	7. Mistakes do happen

Author's note: Hey! Hey! Chapter 7 is here! We last left off with Ken beating the crap... well, not really, he was actually avoiding it, but still he beat the crap out of Cedrick without even trying, leaving Akira to do the job for him! Heh! Heh! Anyway........ Ken takes Miyako out of the party, carrying her in his arms *sigh...* and brings her back to her dorm. He leaves eventually, but what happens the next morning?  
  
  
  
Chapter 7 - Mistakes do happen   
  
  
  
  
She woke up, the pounding headache getting worst by the minute. She has no idea how long she's been asleep, but as she looked up at her clock on the bedside table, she sprung up suddenly and squeeled.  
  
The door suddenly opened, revealing a wide eyed Hanako. "What?! What is it?!" She came and sat down on the bed, taking Miyako's hand in hers.  
  
Miyako placed a hand on her forehead, took another look at her clock wide eyed. "It's ten o'clock! NO!" In frustration, she laid back down on her bed and moaned. "My english test! I missed it an hour ago! I needed that A!" Another pain in her head beat inside, causing her to wince slightly.  
  
Hanako rolled her eyes. "Calm down, will you? Ken said he was going to tell the Professor you weren't going to make it!"  
  
"Ken?" She removed her hand from her head and gazed at her friend. "Did he-? Did he stay with me the whole time after the party?"  
  
"He was going to, but I told him to go home, because he needed to rest."  
  
Miyako closed her eyes and groaned. Laying back down, she rubbed the top of her nose with her fingers and sighed. "How can I be so stupid? I kept walking away from him, without even knowing the truth that Akira was just his cousin?"  
  
Hanako placed a hand on her friend's, which was resting on the bed. "We all make mistakes, Miya."  
  
Miyako shook her head slowly. "No..... not mistakes as stupid as the one as I did!"  
  
The door opened, causing both friends to turn. Akira appeared from behind the door, holding a cup of orange juice and a bottle of aspirin. She smiled. "Hi, Miyako. I'm glad you're awake!" She walked over to the bedside table and placed the cup of juice and the bottle on the table, then looked down on the confused Miyako.   
  
"What are you doing here?" Miyako asked, feeling guilty.   
  
"What do you mean? I'm here to help you." She looked at the orange juice and the aspirin, then back at Miyako. "I brought aspirin for you to get rid of the headache." She smiled.  
  
Miyako winced. How can she be helpful to her when she's been ignoring her for no apparent reason at all? "Um... thanks Akira." She looked away.  
  
Akira was hurt, Hanako knew. The older teen looked at Hanako for explanation, but Hanako just shrugged. The red head stood up and stared at Miyako. "I'll give you two some room to talk. I'll be right outside Miyako, if you need me." She gave Akira a weary smile, then left.  
  
Miyako slowly turned to face Akira, then looked down, afraid to look at her.  
  
"Do you hate me?" Akira asked, sitting down on the bed.  
  
The moment of the truth, the question that plagued Miyako's thoughts. She hated Akira because she was Ken's 'girl friend.' The lavender haired girl looked up and shook her head. "Why would I hate you? I don't even know you." She said it as calmly as she needed to be, or else she could start crying and begging Ken to forgive her for the horrible mistake.  
  
Akira shrugged. "Well, I've noticed that ever since I got here, you've been avoiding Ken, as if wanting to avoid me."  
  
Miyako sighed. "I never hated you.... uh....."  
  
"Akira."  
  
"Akira...." The name rolled in her tongue and brought guilt back in her heart. She couldn't believe she despised her even though she didn't know her and didn't even know her name! "I've been so stupid, Akira and you don't know how stupid!"  
  
Akira placed a hand on hers, as if she knew Miyako for a long time and shook her head. "You're not stupid."  
  
Miyako looked down on the touching hands, then gazed up at Akira's eyes. She had Ken's blue eyes. Miyako frowned and turned her head away from him. "Yes I am.... I've been avoiding Ken, because I thought you were his girl friend."  
  
Akira arched an eyebrow. "You- did?"  
  
The lavender haired girl nodded.   
  
Akira smiled, stroking the younger teen's hand with her thumb. "How can you think such a thing?"  
  
Miyako shrugged. "I don't know. That was the stupidest mistake I've ever done! Now Ken will hate me if I tell him."  
  
Akira shook her head. "That would be a silly thing for Ken to do. He won't hate you. He'll probably.... laugh."  
  
The lavender haired girl jerked her head towards her. "Laugh? Why would he laugh?"  
  
"It was a practical mistake. Why, everyone makes that kind of mistake. Even I had that kind of problem once when I thought I saw my ex-boyfriend, who was my boyfriend then, with another girl. I got so angry that I threw the promise ring back at him and when he called to ask why, I told him and then he just laughed and said the girl was his little sister!" She began to laugh and shake her head.  
  
Miyako laughed, joining in with Akira's giggle. She was right, it was something most people make mistakes from.   
  
  
***************  
  
Ken sighed as he stepped out of the classroom. 'Boy, that was some tough test!' he thought. 'I wonder if Miyako's awake?' He adjusted the backpack on his shoulder and walked out of the english building. Outside was beautiful, the sun shining, the birds singing, just your particular day in 'The Sound of Music.' Ken laughed at that thought. He stopped when some girls eyed him suspiciously. He blushed as the girls giggled pass him.  
  
Shrugging to himself, he continued to head down to Miyako's dorm room. Pass a few more buildings, pass Coleman house where he frowned as he looked up. The dorm house just reminded him of last night. He wanted to go back in there and find Cedrick and.... he shook his head. He didn't want to think about what he wished to do. It would not be pretty, but he was eager to do it. Shaking his head again, he passed another building, then finally made it to where Miyako was staying... the Beach Dorm. An odd name for a dorm, but it didn't matter, as long as Miyako was staying there, away from the clutches of Cedrick Shagizzi.   
  
Pressing the elevator 'up,' he waited until it opened and when it did, he stepped inside, all alone in the confined area. He pressed the number 8, the floor where Miyako was in and stood back as the door closed. Loud music began to play, the same music that he heard when he left Miyako's room that night. He hummed that song, tapping his foot with the beat eagerly. He couldn't wait to see Miyako.  
  
When the elevator made it to the eight floor, he stepped out slowly and casually to make him look less eager and knocked on the first room in front of him. It took two more knocks, until a red head answered the door with a toast in her mouth. When she noticed Ken, she removed her toast from her mouth and grinned.  
  
"Hey, Ken!" she yelped. She opened the door wider for Ken to get in. And when he did, she closed the door behind her with her foot and watched as Ken walked inside the half opened door to Miyako's room.  
  
Ken knocked on the door before he peeked inside. He was surprised to see Akira and Miyako exchanging conversations and, more to his surprise, noticed them holding hands and comforting each other. Akira turned her head around and smiled at Ken.  
  
"Hey Ken, you're back!" Akira spoke up, giving her cousin a wide smile.  
  
Ken just nodded, looking behind Akira at Miyako. Miyako looked at him and smiled. Ken smiled back. He was glad to see her smile again. Akira looked at the two, cleared her throat and stood up.   
  
"Well, I better help Hanako with that toast in the kitchen so...." Without finishing her sentence, Akira left the room.  
  
They were silent for a moment. Ken stood there in an awkward position, while Miyako stayed in bed, looking around, trying to avoid his eyes, afraid to have all the guilt come back alive in her heart.   
  
Ken closed the door behind him, set his back pack aside and walked over to her. He sat down on the bed and smiled down at her. "How are you feeling?"  
  
With courage, she gazed up at Ken and smiled slightly, feeling uncomfortable. "Um... I'm doing fine...." She closed her eyes and sighed. "Ken, I'm sorry."  
  
Ken furrowed his eyebrows curiously. "For what?"  
  
"For avoiding you. I know in your head you want to know."  
  
Ken slowly nodded, not saying anything. He'll let Miyako speak while he listens.  
  
"I- I thought you and Akira were... girlfriend and boyfriend so.... I kept ignoring you." She looked away, not wanting to see Ken's anger.  
  
But, when she heard nothing or saw nothing, she turned her head back towards him. She saw him grinning at her. "You're not... you're not made at me?"  
  
Ken shook his head. "Why would I be? It was some silly mistake." He took her hand in his and caressed it. "Now that this misunderstanding is cleared up....." He gazed up into her eyes. "I'd like to take you to dinner tonight."  
  
Miyako looked at him. "You mean a date?"  
  
Ken looked away, blushing. "No.... not a... date...."  
  
Miyako chuckled. "Sure I'll go out to dinner with you, but... one question."  
  
The blue headed boy twisted his head to look back at her. "What's that?"  
  
"How was the test?"  
  
"Brutal."  
  
"I thought so."  
  
They both laughed, looking at each other. It's been a long time Miyako has seen Ken laugh. She remembered the time he laughed so hard on his Christmas party that everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him. The thought made her giggle when she remembered Ken blushing. 'Ah, old times,' she thought. She wished she could go back in time and redo all the mistakes she did, but she knew she couldn't do that. No one could replay the past. But one thing is for sure... Ken and her will have to start all over again. The date tonight, for one thing will be the first step to bringing their friendship, which she almost ruined, to the next level. Who knows, it could turn to be something more than just friendship. Miyako smiled and gently gripped Ken's hand on hers.  
  
"Thanks, Ken."  
  
"For what?" He stopped laughing and looked at her.  
  
Miyako placed her other hand over top of his and stroked it with her thumb. She looked down at the hands and smiled. "For being there for me," was her simple reply.  
  
Ken looked down on the hands as well, saying nothng.   
  
Silence, once again, passed between them. They stared at their hands entwined. The hands they have been longing to touch and the hands that showed them their future.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: Hey! I hope you liked this one! This was one long story that took me almost half an hour, but I did it! Don't worry, this isn'd the ending...yet! There is more to this than just a walk in the park. You wanna know? The date! I know it's an unusual day for a date, but why wait until Friday or Saturday, when Ken can ask her out tonight? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Please r/r! Thanx! ;) 


	8. Blushing A Hundred Times A Day

Note: You know it's been a long time since I updated this story. Sorry for the long wait, I guess I didn't feel up to updating the chapter cause I didn't know what else to do with it, but since there were so many good reviews to this story, I thought maybe I should give it another go.  
  
  
  
Chapter 8 - Blushing One Hundred Times A Day   
  
  
  
She stared at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a short, backless red dress that reached high above her knees and strapless black high heeled shoes that made her look even taller than before. She twirled around in front of the mirror and blushed when she realized that she was wearing next to nothing. She thought about Ken and imagined him wearing a dashing black tux that would make him look so handsome. Of course, Ken Ichijouji was already the handsomest guy she has ever met and she never missed anything about him. She was startled when a voice boomed behind her.  
  
"WOW! Miya-san you look so kawaii!" Miyako blushed at the compliment and turned slowly to see Hanako closing the door behind her. In her arms, Hanako was holding stacks of books, which, Miyako guessed, was probably she borrowed from the library.   
  
Miyako took a deep breath. Despite her many date experiences, she was now getting really nervous. This one was with the guy that she has like for many years. She grabbed her purse from on top of her bed and glanced one more time at herself in the mirror. She wasn't sure if this was the right dress she picked out. It was similar to the dress she wore the other night.  
  
Once again, Hanako's voice cracked through the silent air. "You look just great, Miya. Be proud that you're finally on a date with Ken Ichijouji, the guy you've been swooning over for many years!"  
  
The lavender haired girl sighed. She has been swooning over him for many years. Correction, she has been obsessing over him for many years. When they left elementary, she and Ken never saw each other again. He went to a different high school than she did, one that was much closer to his house so it was hard calling each other every day. It was also the fact that Miyako didn't know Ken's phone number. She asked Daisuke for it, but he was never home and neither was anyone else. Giving up, she just left it at that until he called that summer.   
  
  
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He stared at himself in the mirror. His heart was beating rapidly and there was no way of knowing if he'll ever survive on this date. Why was he so nervous all of a sudden?   
  
"Hey now! Look at my handsome cousin!" Akira's voice echoed in his ears. He gulped nervously and quietly so Akira wouldn't notice and turned around slowly.   
  
Akira examined him carefully. Ken wore a black turtleneck sweater and black pants with black shoes. "Geez, could you be more gothic?"  
  
Ken looked at himself, then at Akira. "What? What's wrong with it?"  
  
Akira shrugged. "There's nothing wrong. I think you look great." She looked away and pretended not to notice.  
  
He couldn't stand it whenever Akira did that. He folded his arms across his chest and frowned. It was ten minutes to seven and he had to pick up Miyako soon and drive down to the movie theatres. "Akira," he spoke with his low voice.  
  
Akira was looking at his closet, trying to find a more suitable shirt for the date. She didn't listen to Ken's call; instead, she grabbed something from his closet and took it out to show him. "How about this one?" She showed him a black collared silk shirt with white buttons and shoved it in his hands. "Wear this one."  
  
Ken looked at it. "This one? I don't know..." He stared at the long sleeved shirt for a minute. It was silk and whenever he wore silk his chest would.... "Hey! Are you trying to make me wear something that would accentuate my chest???!" He couldn't believe what Akira was doing.  
  
Innocently, Akira smiled. "What are you talking about? I just thought maybe this was a better shirt than that old thing of yours."  
  
The blue haired young man frowned. "This shirt?" he spoke, grabbing a fabric of his turtle necked sweater to emphasize his speech. "Hey, this shirt happens to be the present Miyako sent to me on Christmas!"  
  
Akira grinned. "Oh really? Oh okay!" She gulped nervously, put her hands up in front of her and laughed. "Hey why don't you calm down, all right?"  
  
Ken took a deep breath. He hadn't realized that he was breathing too heavily, realizing that he was showing too much of his nervousness. Akira walked over to him to fix the neck part of his shirt. "Don't be so nervous, Ken. The more you get nervous, the more the date will go badly. You don't want that do you?"  
  
The blue haired boy shook his head.  
  
"Good," Akira said. She stepped back slowly and tilted her head to the side. "Well, you look great! I'm sure Miya would appreciate you wearing the shirt she gave you. That brings you five points on the dating chart!"  
  
Ken chose not to listen to the last part as he glanced at the mirror again and told himself not to be nervous. He took deep breaths slowly, wiped the lint from his black shirt and began to walk towards the door, while Akira watched him go. He paused by the door and glanced over his shoulder where he noticed Akira giving him thumbs up. He rolled his eyes and shook his head, before opening the door and leaving his room.   
  
Akira pretended to wipe tears from her eyes. "He's growing up so fast!"  
  
  
*****************  
  
"Will you quit that, Miya? You look great! Stop checking yourself too much or else you'll break the mirror!" Hanako landed on the bed tiredly and sighed. There were times that she was ready to strangle Miyako. The lavender haired girl spent five minutes looking at herself in the mirror and several twirls to make sure nothing was odd. She paused then and stared at her reflection. The red haired girl sighed deeply again so Miyako would notice her annoyance and stood up.   
  
Miyako wasn't listening to what she was doing. She just gazed at the mirror as if she was in a trance and frowned. So many doubts were in her mind. What if she ruins the date? Every date she has been with was somewhat of a disaster. She remembered going out on a date with Shen Li, a Chinese transfer student in Japan. Excited about going on a date with him on a Chinese restaurant, Miyako decided to learn Chinese on her own, with the exception of the Internet. When they arrived there, Shen and her sat down and that was when the disaster happened. Thinking that she knew full Chinese, she began to talk to Shen about what she thought was, "Isn't this a nice place? Thank you for bringing me here." To what Shen told her that night when he was driving her home, this is what she said: "I hate you, I never like you at all. I don't know why I agreed to go out with you in the first place. Maybe it was because I was forced to." Shen never spoke to her after that.   
  
"Earth to Miya!" Hanako waved a hand in front of her face. The lavender haired girl shook out of her trance and stared at Hanako. "Your date is here."  
  
Miyako flinched. She turned around slowly and noticed Ken standing there. "Oh... hi Ken..." She blushed, realizing that he was standing there the whole time she was staring at herself in the mirror.  
  
Ken looked at her and turned away. "Um... you look great Miyako."  
  
Her face turned red. She looked down shyly and smiled. "You look great too, Ken-kun." She looked up, her smile never fading from her lips.  
  
Ken blushed. He has never heard Miyako call him that before.   
  
Both of them stood there for a few seconds, saying nothing. They just stared at each other, as if mesmerized by each other.   
  
The red head just stood there staring at them.  
  
Unable to stand the suspense any longer, Hanako threw her hands in the air and sighed. "Hello! Are you guys going on a date or what?!" Patient as she was, Hanako couldn't stand it any longer. She was always patient, don't get her wrong, but enough was enough.   
  
Miyako shook her head and laughed nervously. "Yeah, um...." She grabbed her coat from her bed and put it on quickly.  
  
Ken rubbed his neck nervously and grinned at Hanako. "Yeah, we don't want to be late for the movie." He went out the door and waited until Miyako stood beside him. They both waved good-bye to Hanako and they finally left the frustrated girl all alone in the room.   
  
  
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Apparently, to what Ken and Miyako said about, their date went exceptionally well. To what Hanako heard from Miyako, she didn't ruin it for them. She simply kept herself cool and no disasters occurred that night. To what Akira heard, Ken was calm and collected and he never once flinched or fidgeted whenever he was nervous. They eventually made it through the night without breaking down. They watched movies without ordering any popcorn, because after that, they went to a fancy restaurant and ate dinner there. They talked to each other as if they're known each other for a very long time.   
  
"It was as if the whole thing with Cedrick never happened," Miyako spoke that same night she came home. She was dressed in her pink pajamas with little red hearts decorated around it, while lying on her bed and talking to Hanako. "It was as if we were those same kids eight years ago, talking and having a good time." Except for the Digimon part, she added in her head.  
  
"So I take it you really have a good time. Did you kiss him yet?" Hanako adjusted her pillow, fluffing it until it was right and put her head back down.  
  
Miyako hesitated for a while. She was always embarrassed about telling her friends about her personal life.   
  
Hanako rolled her eyes impatiently. "Come on, Miya! I am your best friend! Why do you keep hesitating every time I ask you about this stuff?" She lifted her head up, using her elbows as her lever and looked at the bed across from her.   
  
The lavender haired girl sighed. The kiss was amazing. She ran a finger on her lips and smiled dreamily. Ken was a wonderful kisser. She still has tingles all over her body whenever she thought about it. "Well, yeah... we did kiss." When she said that, a hint of red flashed on her cheeks. She buried herself deeper underneath the blanket, waiting to hear Hanako making a comment about how sweet it was and how Miyako finally had a boyfriend. However, Hanako didn't say anything of the sort. The red head slammed her head back down on the pillow and smiled.  
  
"That's really awesome, Miya. I'm glad you finally have someone to be with. I was starting to get really impatient with you two," was all Hanako said, before closing her eyes.  
  
It was Miyako's turn to lift her head up to her friend. "What? No comment on how sweet it was and other things that you say that makes me mad?"  
  
Hanako yawned and shook her head in the darkness. "No... I think it's nice that you have someone. I wish I was as lucky as you." She lifted her blanket up to her chin and turned away from her friend. "A guy like that would make any girl jealous." She yawned again. "I think I'm starting to get jealous too."  
  
Miyako put her head back down and stared at the ceiling. "You'll find someone, Hanako. Don't worry you will. What about that guy... Jiro?"   
  
No answer.  
  
The lavender haired girl turned her head towards her friend. "Hanako? Hanako are you awake?"  
  
The only answer she had was a snore. Miyako giggled and sighed. She closed her eyes and dreamed about the kiss.  
  
  
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Ken smiled as he walked down to English. It was a rainy morning and, somehow, he was smiling the whole time he was staring at the gloomy clouds. He couldn't get his mind off of Miyako and the kiss. He was on cloud 9. The blue haired boy walked eagerly to his class, hoping to see Miyako there at her regular spot. Indeed, when he opened the door, he found her sitting there. She smiled when she noticed him coming.   
  
"Ohayo, Miya-san," he greeted, kissing her on the cheek.  
  
Miyako blushed. "Oyaho, Ken-kun. How was your sleep?" She couldn't help but ask to what he thought about the kiss.  
  
Ken smiled and turned away shyly. "It was great." He knew she was talking about the kiss. "I couldn't stop thinking about it."  
  
The lavender haired girl's face was even redder than before. Was she that good of a kisser? Make no mistake, Ken was even better and it made her melt every time she thought about it. "You- couldn't?"  
  
Ken shook his head. "No. I think it was great." He stared at her with the corner of his eyes. With his hand, he reached over and grabbed Miyako's hand and squeezed it tight.   
  
Miyako blushed even redder. She squeezed his hand back and said nothing. She wanted to say something else, but their professor enabled her to do so as he entered the room with his usual bag in his hand. She glanced at Ken and smiled. Ken looked back at her and returned her smile with a smile as well. 'This year will be great!' she thought, as she wrote down some things the Professor was starting to write on the board.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: WOO! I finally finished that chapter! Sorry for the long wait! Hm.... I'm not sure this is the end. There will be problems on the way now and that's all I'm going to say! See you on the next chapter!!!!!!!! 


	9. Farewell, Hanako

Note: Oh my! It has been such a long time since I wrote the next chapter for Lavender! Sorry you guys for the long wait! Anyway, we last left off when Ken and Miyako finally had their first kiss. Now- more problems will come in the way!  
  
  
Chapter 9 - Farewell Hanako   
  
  
  
That perfect night brought joy in her heart. She clasped her hands tightly on the gift he had given her, wrapped inside a beautiful, shimmering blue gift wrapper and given to her on their special day- their first anniversary of being together. She looked up and smiled at him with her large brown eyes behind her thick glasses.   
  
"Arigatou, Ken-kun," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck. She kissed him on the lips and pressed her head against his chest, almost dropping the gift.   
  
The young man placed his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, enough so he could bend down and kiss her back in a passionate kiss. They were like that for a few seconds, until they heard someone step inside the room.   
  
"OOOOOOHHHHHHHHH! You guys are SOOO KAWAII!" a voice spoke, loud enough so the people in the hallway could hear. One young man peeked his head inside, wondering what was going on, but Hanako had already closed the door at his face. The red head made her way on her own bed, glancing at the sight before her with an envious sigh.  
  
Miyako and Ken stared at her, both blushing.   
  
Hanako waved her hand at them and decided to lie down on her bed. "Go on! As you were."  
  
The lavender haired girl rolled her eyes. "Do you mind, Hanako?"  
  
The red head stared at her friend. For months now, the two have been close friends, but never has Hanako felt so away from her. Ever since the two got together and ever since Miyako started inviting Ken over at their dorm room, Hanako felt shunned by her long time friend. Hanako frowned, stood up from bed and stared at her, hurtfully. "All right," she mumbled. Without another word, Hanako stepped out of the room and left the two to be alone. Miyako stared at the door, feeling guilty for what she did. She saw the look in Hanako's eyes.  
  
Ken glanced at her. "What is it, Miyako-chan?"  
  
Miyako turned her head back at him. "I should never have told her that, Ken-kun...She's my friend..."  
  
The young man nodded. "Then go talk to her. I'll go back to my room, all right?" He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. He took both her hands and squeezed them gently and lovingly. "Besides, I have to go study for my entrance exam in two days."   
  
Miyako sighed. "You are so understanding, Ken-kun..." she whispered.  
  
Ken smiled and released her hand, before leaving the room, followed by Miyako. They walked together down the hall, until at the end and said their last good bye, before separating; Ken for his room and Miyako for Hanako.   
  
  
Miyako found her best friend sitting near the fountain located in one of the famous study halls. Many art students that have graduated from University created the fountain and since it became extremely popular, the school board decided to keep the fountain as a memory of those days. She watched her friend carefully from a distance as Hanako watched in a trance at the flowing water. The blue, clear water looked as if it was radiating light from somewhere, but it was only just the light built underneath the water to make effect. From out of nowhere, Miyako could see Hanako's tears falling from her face and into the water below. The lavender haired girl felt her heart being pulled away from her body, as if part of her was part of Hanako. How could she have done such a thing to her friend? Hanako was always there for her, protecting her, defending her when she needed to be and all she gave her friend in return was sorrow and pain. Slowly, she approached her friend from behind, making her footsteps loud enough so Hanako can hear her approaching. Miyako stepped in beside her, and then glanced at her friend, staring at the water.  
  
Shamefully, the lavender haired girl looked down. "I'm sorry, Hanako," she murmured. "I didn't mean to hurt you."  
  
Hanako frowned and sighed. "I know you didn't mean it, Miyako, but I'm disappointed how you never noticed that I've been feeling this way ever since you and Ken got together. Don't get me wrong, I don't want you to lose Ken, but I feel like I'm..." She looked up with tearful eyes. "I'm losing my best friend."  
  
Miyako sat down beside her, placing a hand on Hanako's shoulder. Tears began to fall from her eyes. "I'm sorry if you have felt that way, Hanako. I- I was too naïve to even notice that you were hurting. I'm sorry... I- I didn't mean to ignore you like that."  
  
The red head tried to smile, but couldn't. First she was accepted to University, which happened to be all the way in America and if she accepted, she might lose her best friend in the process and second... Ken was in her best friend's life so she couldn't be her number one priority. Either way, she was losing her best friend. She was about to say something about her acceptance in the University, when Miyako's voice interrupted her.  
  
"You are NEVER EVER going to lose me, Hanako, you hear me? You will always be my best friend." She grabbed her friend's hand and wiped her tears away with the other hand.   
  
Hanako took a deep breath, moving her head away from her. "Miyako, you were the only friend I have ever known, my only true friend. I was a shy girl... I never had any friends and sometimes I wished I was never born and just stayed that way so I didn't have to worry about anything else. My parents were divorced, my stepbrothers and sisters were cruel and my dad died after my birthday. I had to live with my Aunt for a long time and she, along with me, moved to this place a few summers ago and applied for high college here. Before I met you Miyako, before I even thought about entering college, I wanted to relieve myself from this pain I had for years. However, when I met you, you changed me a whole lot. You made me feel loved again like a true friend you are and made me forget about my past. I can never forget that day when you invited me over for my first sleepover and my first pancakes for breakfast."  
  
"Yes and I can never forget about how you had a huge crush on one of my older brothers, Shinbo," Miyako replied.  
  
Hanako smiled since that night. "Yes and I still do like Shinbo..." She paused, and then turned to face her, now in a more serious expression. "Miyako, I was accepted at a University in America and I'm leaving this coming fall."  
  
Miyako's eyes widened. She was stunned. When was she planning on telling this to her? Before she left for America? The lavender haired girl looked down and sighed. "Hanako... I know I've been neglecting you for the past couple of days, but- is it really necessary for you to run away from this?"  
  
Hanako shook her head. "I thought about that Miya-chan and it's not about that anymore. When I was watching you two, I felt something heavy pulled away from my shoulders. That's when I realized that I should move on too."   
  
The lavender haired girl wrapped her arms around her friend and cried in her shoulders. "Hanako, please don't go. I didn't mean to hurt you like that... I-"  
  
"Miya, don't..." she spoke, interrupting her friend. "Why do you have to feel sorry when I'm not sorry at all? I probably would have done the same thing in your shoes." She released her friend's arm from around her and looked into her eyes. "Miyako, just because I'm moving, doesn't mean we shouldn't be friends." Like her friend, Hanako wiped Miyako's tears from her eyes. "I'll call you when I get there, okay?" She smiled, feeling good about herself now. She had no reason to be angry with Miyako. She would have done the same thing if she were in love with someone.  
  
"When are you leaving?" Miyako asked, in a broken voice.  
  
Hanako smiled. "I'm leaving on Friday, but I'll make sure that you and Ken drop me off at the airport." She giggled. "Is Ken cranky in the mornings?"  
  
The lavender haired girl laughed back, her sadness fading. "Not really, which surprises me. He's an early bird. I even see him jogging pass my window at four o'clock in the morning. I'm sure he won't mind dropping you off." Miyako looked down on the floor. "Hana-chan?"   
  
Hanako stared worriedly at her friend. "Hai?"  
  
"You're not angry with me anymore?" She looked up and stared at her friend's eyes. To her relief, Hanako just smiled back and wrapped her arms around her. The red head had to lift her shoulders up a little to hug the taller girl.   
  
"Of course I'm not," she whispered in her ear. "Best friends don't stay mad at each other long." She smiled and took a deep breath. Hanako pulled away from her friend and looked at her. "But you have to remember to call me back or I WILL get mad!"  
  
Miyako laughed. "Of course I will." She pulled her friend back against her for another embrace and they stayed like that for a couple of seconds, before Miyako suddenly pulled herself away from her. "Friday? But that's only two days away!"  
  
Hanako nodded. "I guess we have to spend time as much as we can, ne?"  
  
Miyako nodded back. "Hai! Tomorrow, we can go to the carnival!" She pondered for a moment and realized that she planned something with Ken tomorrow, but.. I'm sure Ken wouldn't mind, she thought.  
  
Hanako glanced at her, noticing her disappointment.. "Don't forget to bring Ken and Akira too!" she spoke, startling Miyako. "I want to spend my days with you all!"  
  
"But I thought you said-"  
  
"It doesn't matter what I said anymore! I wasn't thinking! Besides... Ken and Akira are good people and are fun to hang out with!"   
  
Miyako smiled. "Hai!" she retorted.   
  
  
  
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Hours had gone by and the day before Hanako's departure finally arrived. Miyako gave Ken a quick kiss on cheeks before she said goodbye to him. She met with her best friend by 'The Pier,' Hanako's favourite restaurant in Japan and there, they spent good two hours together. The two embarked on a journey to the pier, riding a boat to get to one of the gulf islands of Japan and spent the rest of the hours basking in the sun. Ken, was getting worried that Miyako came back almost at midnight. He was ready to go look for her with Akira, but Akira assured him that there was nothing for him to worry about. And that there were plenty of other things he should be thinking more of.  
  
"Have you told her yet?" his cousin had asked that same day. Ken never chose to bring up that topic, but since she was curious, Ken could not help but answer.  
  
Ken shook his head. "I told Watabe-sensei that I would think about it before making my decision."  
  
Akira placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "I know this is not my place to get in your nerves, Ken-kun, but your sensei did give you at least a day or two to make this decision. You should tell Miyako now before actually making it."  
  
Ken sighed. "I know," he replied. "Demo... I don't know what to tell her."  
  
The older girl frowned. "The same what you always tell her... the truth."  
  
To his relief, Miyako returned from the islands a quarter pass eleven and Ken couldn't have been happier. He promised Akira that he would tell her, but he was unable too. He made a decision to let Miyako remember all the good memories she was having with Hanako before she would leave her life forever.  
  
  
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The next morning, exactly three hours before Hanako's flight, Miyako asked Ken if he could drive the two of them to the airport. The blue haired man agreed and helped Hanako put all her suitcase at the back of his car. Akira was still fast asleep by the time all Hanako's belongings were put inside. It was decided that four hours before the flight would be perfect, since there would be rush hour on a Friday morning, what with people going to work and such. With so much packing to do, it would take at least half an hour and an extra hour to get there too. By the time they were finished, Akira was seen stepping out of the apartment for the first time, with tired eyes, yawning and stretching her arms up. She rubbed her eyes with her hands and looked up to notice Hanako staring at her with open arms.  
  
"Aren't you going to give me a hug, Akira-chan?" Hanako spoke, smiling.  
  
Akira smiled back and went over to her to give her friend a long hug, before taking a step back to watch the work done on the small vehicle. She was surprised at the amount of the three of them on putting all the suitcases inside the tiny car. It wasn't all that tiny. It was more decent than a Mazda Miata. She wondered how all of them are going to fit in there. Akira chose to erase that thought away from her mind and glanced over at Miyako, who had placed herself in front of her best friend and wrapped her arms around her with a tight embrace.  
  
"Miyako-chan, you do know that you're coming with me to the airport right? We can always hug there before I step inside the airplane." Hanako giggled and unwrapped her arms from her friend.  
  
Miyako sniffed. A tear crept from her eyes and fell in Hanako's shoulder, leaving a small, dark dot on her green sundress. "I know, but... I just wanted to hug my best friend that's all! I can't stand it if one of my friends leave me behind!!!"  
  
Hanako, this time, couldn't help but cry. "Ohhh, Miyako now you made me cry!!!" She glanced at the two standing awkwardly, Ken behind Miyako and Akira behind her and smiled. She urged them to join them into a hug. "Come on you two! I won't be here long so it's best that we have a group hug!!!"  
  
Ken was reluctant, but Akira wasn't as she wrapped her long, slender arms around the two. Between the three of them, Hanako was the shortest and the smallest, while Miyako was the tallest and the skinniest. Akira glanced at the hesitating young man and waved her hand at him to join them. Ken sighed. He had no problem wrapping his arms around Miyako and Akira, but with Hanako... it was different. He barely talked to her, but he knew she was the nicest and the bounciest person he has ever met. He was just about to reject the offer, when Akira pulled him with them, almost toppling the ladies down with his tall form. However, he was able to control himself from falling, but taking his arms around the three young women. It was rather awkward, but it felt good and warm. Miyako's body was certainly warm against his body. He wondered if Miyako would also feel this way towards him if he told her that he had made his decision upon the offer of schooling in Harvard. He wasn't quite sure HOW she would react. Since her best friend was leaving, it would be likely that she would feel neglected if he left too. Akira would soon have to go back to New York as well, leaving Miyako alone. How long could she last without breaking down? He knew Miyako too well.   
  
  
It took another few minutes before the three finally broke from their embrace. Ken regarded Akira's face, red and swollen from all the crying and he couldn't help but sympathize. Hanako seemed to be the only close friend of Akira. Miyako was her close friend too, but none as she was close to Hanako. There were times that he spotted the two plotting something to keep him and Miyako together, which he thought was pretty cute.   
  
"Hey you! Are you going to drive us now or are you just going to stand there and stare at the car all day?" a voice spoke, interrupting his thoughts.  
  
Ken blinked, feeling rather awkward being watched by the three women around him. He hadn't noticed that Miyako and Hanako were already inside the car, ready to leave. The blue haired boy cleared his throat, bid his cousin farewell and went around the driver side of the car and hopped in. Miyako giggled, placing a hand on her boyfriend's arm. Ken smiled slightly, embarrassed and started the engine.  
  
Akira waved farewell, blowing a kiss to the only close friend she has ever had. Too many months have passed and that was all she had with Hanako. Yet, despite the lack of time, she has never felt so close to her, especially when plotting with her to keep his cousin and her girlfriend together. "Sayonara, Hanako-chan!!!" she yelped as the car pulled out of the driveway. By that time, she could see Hanako rolling down the window and putting her head out, waving her hand with tears in her eyes.  
  
"SAYONARA!!!!!!! I'll write to you!!!" Hanako yelled back.  
  
Akira smiled and watched as Hanako went back inside the car. It turned a corner and disappeared, but she could still hear the roaring of the engine. The girl smiled, feeling sad and happy at the same time.   
  
  
  
  
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The ride to the airport didn't take that long at all. He thought it was at least an hour or so, but to his surprise, there was no rush hour. To add to his already shocked expression, there were less people than he expected to be going in and out of the airport.   
  
"I guess you're in luck, Hanako," Ken spoke, as they entered the terminal. Hanako glanced behind her quickly and smiled, with a barely audible response of 'hai.' He was carrying the heaviest load of all in arms, which, to his guess, were Hanako's lamps, a round clock and anything heavy she had in her arm. Miyako carried one of her backpacks and was pulling a roll on one, while Hanako carried a shoulder bag and two rolling luggages.   
  
Miyako gazed into Ken's eyes and smiled. Despite the grin on her face, Ken knew she was sad inside. He was afraid now of adding more sadness within her if he told her, but he had to tell her soon. He was once again interrupted by Hanako's excited voice as they made it to the main terminal. She plopped down on one of the chairs and rolled her luggages in beside her, as Miyako and Ken each took their own seats across from her.   
  
"Well, this is it! Only two hours left until my flight gets here." She watched as Miyako sat uncomfortably on her seat, her hands on her lap, while fidgeting with her fingers. Hanako hated it when Miyako did that. When she fidgeted, there was something Miyako wanted to say, but couldn't say it. She sighed. "Miya, if you got something to say, please tell me."  
  
Miyako looked up and smiled. "What are you talking about? There's nothing to say."  
  
Ken gazed at her girlfriend and frowned. Hanako could read her like a book and Ken could do just as well. Miyako was good at hiding, but never this good. The optimistic girl, who was not afraid to express her feelings, grew up into someone reserved, bottling all her emotions inside without hesitation. Ken placed a hand over hers and sighed. "Miyako, please tell us what's wrong. You were always the type of girl to tell us her feelings."  
  
Hanako smiled. He so understands. She glanced towards her friend and watched as she hesitated, then opened her mouth, and then closed it again. The red head was ready to talk again, when she heard Miyako's voice.  
  
"I'm just sad, Hanako, that's all." Hanako looked at her straight in the eye. "I knew that sooner or later that one of us had to leave and one of us had to stay, but I never thought it could be this soon, just a few more months before you graduate from college."  
  
Hanako leaned over and reached out a hand to touch hers. "Miyako, we all have to go on now, even though we have to separate, but it doesn't mean we'll stop calling each other friends. You'll always be right here..." Leaning a little farther, she placed Miyako's hand to her heart and smiled. "You'll always be in my heart and I'll always be in yours."  
  
Ken watched silently at the two. The closeness they had was rather overwhelming and he almost felt himself crying, but chose to erase the thoughts with a silent gulp. He turned away, standing up to stare out the window at the on coming planes. He could feel the two girls staring at him with utmost curiosity.  
  
"Ken-kun? Are you all right?" Ken felt nervous about that question. He was all right, but not all that great with thoughts clouding his mind. How is he going to tell Miyako that he had absent-mindedly accepted the offer at Harvard?   
  
The boy turned and smiled. "Oh, just fine. Just a little tired, because I didn't have enough sleep last night."  
  
Hanako frowned. "What? You mean you stayed up all night to study for the entrance exam? Yet, you even chose to drop me off at the airport?"  
  
Ken couldn't help but answer with a nod. "Yeah." He noticed the way Hanako was staring at him, as if she was rather upset about his choice to drop her off with only half opened eyes. "But, I'm okay now though. All the caffeine kept me awake the whole night and I think it's just kicking in right now." Half of what he said was true.  
  
Hanako could tell he was lying, but she also wanted to hug him for being so kind. She glanced at Miyako and smiled. "Speaking of caffeine, you guys want to go to the coffee shop here and get breakfast?"  
  
Miyako nodded. "Sure!" She glanced at Ken and stood up. "Let's go Ken!"  
  
Ken nodded and followed suit at the two girls lead the way to the coffee shop, just a few seconds away from the terminal. They ordered English food mostly, since the airport was international. Miyako and Hanako each ordered the same thing, cheese cake Danish and mocha cappuccino, while Ken ordered only coffee. Miyako was quite surprised with his choice of breakfast.  
  
"Don't you eat apple strudel every morning?" Miyako spoke, as she bit into her Danish.  
  
Ken nodded quietly. "Yeah, but I wanted more coffee to keep me awake this morning." He winked at his girlfriend, receiving a flush from her in return.  
  
Hanako couldn't help but feel kindness to the man who made her best friend happy. She liked Ken, but sometimes she hated him for being so quiet and acting like such a gentleman. She told herself most of the time that such men don't exist, but since she met Ken, she decided to change her thoughts on it. Maybe she'll find one like him too! Without a second thought, she opened her mouth to speak about the most personal subject she could ever come up with. She told herself last night that she would bring it up since there was no other time to ask it.  
  
"Ken, since you and Miya-chan have been together for months now, when are you going to ask her to marry you?" It was hilarious watching their reaction. Ken swallowed his coffee hard down his throat, almost falling off his chair backwards, while Miyako almost choked at her Danish, as her face turned red in embarrassment. The two glanced at each other, before finally taking a look towards Hanako.  
  
"Why... what are you talking about?" Miyako turned her attention back at her Danish, the redness never leaving her cheeks.   
  
Ken cleared his throat uncomfortably and turned his head away from her, his cheeks also coloured in crimson. He said nothing as he found something more amusing at the menu posted on the wall than Hanako's giggling face.   
  
"Oh, you don't need to answer it. I'm sure I'll get an answer once I call you! Don't forget to make me your bridesmaid, Miya!!!"   
  
The two said nothing more after that, leaving a giggling Hanako eating her Danish and mocha.  
  
  
  
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Two hours briefly passed like seconds. The stewards took the luggages that Ken and Miyako carried inside the airplane, because the luggage carrier was broken. There was no problem taking it all in by hands at the bottom of the plane as Ken and Miyako observed. The two girls exchanged a few more tears before Hanako finally took her first step inside the airplane. Ken watched as Miyako wiped tears from her eyes. He placed a hand on her shoulder and rubbed the pain with his thumbs. They watched Hanako bored the plane with more tears falling from her eyes when the door finally closed. Miyako took a step and waved again. It took another few minutes for them to wait, until they could see her inside the plane. Hanako blew a kiss towards them as the plane began to move away from the terminal. That was the last time they ever saw of her until it finally flew into the skies. Miyako couldn't help but feel sad for the only friend she has ever had. Ken wrapped her arms around him and let her cry in his arms until it was appropriate to leave the terminal forever. It wouldn't be long until he would come back to ride on one of them. He can just imagine Miyako with tears in her eyes as the plane began to fly away into the skies, never to be seen again.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: I suck at developing characters. Hanako wasn't all that developed, but I hope you had a good idea of what she was like from here! Anyway, please review! I'll give you guys lollipops!!!!!! 


	10. Willing

Note: Hi! Sorry y'all for the long wait! I've been busy with school and all. Anyway, now that it has been revealed that Ken 'might' be leaving Miyako for Harvard, what happens now? Will he chose to leave Miyako to follow his dreams and lose his love forever? Or will he stay and lose his career, but still has his loved one? Find out on this chapter!  
  
  
  
Chapter 10 - Willing  
  
  
  
He was always alone, always wanting to be kept in the darkness where he could wish he would never come out. The darkness was the only thing he has grown used to. However, despite the abyss that surrounded him, she was there to guide his way out of the predicament. She was the light for him to follow so he would not get lost. She made him get used to the outside world, rather than the darkness that consumed him, to what he thought, he was going to get stuck in forever. He sighed, running a hand through his short, dark hair and put his arm back down at his side. He didn't know how long he's been staring at that particular paper now. He had lost count after an hour or so. With one deep sigh, Ken leaned back on the chair, his eyes trained towards the unfolded paper that lay on the dining room table before him. He shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment, before he heard the door open to bring him out of his reverie. Ken looked up and noticed a very tired looking Akira, yawning as she stepped out of her room. Once she noticed him there, the dark haired teen walked up to her cousin and on the table across from him. She fixed her eyes on the same paper Ken was entranced on.  
  
"How did you do?" Akira spoke, looking at him.  
  
Ken gently pushed the paper towards his cousin with one finger and sighed. "Take a look," he replied.  
  
She picked up the paper and read through it quickly, before putting it back down again in front of her cousin. "You've been unconditionally accepted." She glanced at him and frowned, when she noticed his confused face. "Ken, you should start by telling her about this. If you want your relationship to work with her, you should start being truthful."  
  
Ken nodded. "I know, I know. It's really hard to tell her. She lost her best friend and I'm afraid to find out how she would react if she lost her boyfriend too." He stood up and started to pace the room back and forth, from one end to the other side of the wall. Akira watched as he stopped in front of the couch, thought for a moment, then continued to pace once again.  
  
"Ken, you should start acting like an adult and face the facts!" Angrily, Akira stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder to stop her cousin from pacing. The dark haired girl stood in front of him and stared into his eyes, placing her other hand on his other shoulder. "You have to tell her before you lose your chance."  
  
The tall boy nodded. "Akira..." He looked down and sighed. "I tried telling her so many times, but the words could never come out right."  
  
Akira took a deep breath, releasing her hands from his shoulders. "Whatever you tell her, Ken, I'll be here to support you. But, you have to tell her before her party tonight."  
  
Ken nodded. "I will. Right now, I have to make one more call." He walked over to the telephone and picked it up from the receiver before sitting down on the couch beside the table. He dialed the first number that came into his mind. After pressing the last number, Ken sighed and waited for three rings, until he heard a voice on the other line.   
  
"Hello?" a woman's familiar voice spoke.  
  
"Hey you. Good thing I was able to call before you left for work," Ken spoke. He smiled, even though she wasn't going to see it.  
  
"Actually, I'm off at work today. Is the party still on?" she asked.  
  
Ken nodded. "Of course. So, I take it you're coming for sure?"  
  
The girl laughed. Ken could just see her nod and smile. "Of course! Why would I miss Miyako-chan's birthday?"  
  
Ken laughed as well. "All right. I'll see you tonight then?"  
  
"Yeah! Say... Ken?"  
  
"Hai?"  
  
"Does she like cats?" the girl asked, pausing for a while, before Ken finally spoke. Sometimes he can never understand the girl and sometimes he can never understand how Miyako could be friends with someone so optimistic as her.  
  
"Yes she does. Why?"  
  
The girl shrugged. "Oh nothing. I guess you have to find out when I get there. See ya!" Ken heard the girl hang up. He put his own phone down on the receiver and glanced up at Akira.  
  
"Is she coming for sure?" Akira questioned.  
  
Ken nodded and smiled. "Most definitely!" Even though his smile was there, his heart was still beating so fast, feeling nervous and confused about his own situation with what to tell Miyako. He wasn't sure whether he should tell her before or after her party.   
  
  
  
  
______________________  
  
  
  
  
  
It has been a year now. Her birthday was coming and she had the sweetest boyfriend. She rested her head on her upturned palm and sighed. When they were kids, during those months in the Digiworld, as she watched Ken, he has changed completely from a shy and sweet boy into an outgoing and positive thinking young man. "A handsome young man," Miyako added dreamily. A girl beside her glanced at her and giggled. Miyako blushed and looked down on her notes, from, what she could see, were writings and drawings of her Ken-kun. She looked at the same girl and grinned. "My boyfriend," she said, proudly.  
  
The girl nodded. "I can see that," she replied, smiling.   
  
Miyako smiled back, feeling relieved that this girl beside her wasn't thinking she was obsessed over Ken. Sighing, she looked back up at her sensei and finally took the time, for the very first time in that class, she let her ears listen to her speak. Her mind, however, was still thinking about Ken's kisses and his smile and....   
  
"Hey, is that him?" a voice spoke, interrupting her thoughts. Miyako blinked, quickly glanced up at the girl and looked at her confusingly.   
  
"Huh?" she asked. The girl pointed somewhere behind her. Miyako followed her finger and noticed Ken looking through the small glass window of the door and smiling at her. He waved and blew a kiss towards her. The lavender haired girl blushed and waved cautiously back at Ken, almost giggling loudly. She could hear the girl beside her sigh and another girl behind her deeply breathing and whispering, "Kawaii."   
  
"You have such a sweet boyfriend! That's Ken Ichijouji, isn't it?" Miyako hadn't noticed that the person in front of her was a guy, with long brown hair that reached his shoulder. He seemed skinny, but she couldn't tell from his thick turtle necked sweater. Miyako smiled back and nodded, then glanced back at Ken still smiling at her.  
  
"Oh, Miya-san! I want to meet Ken so much! I am such a huge fan of him!" the young man spoke, clasping his hands together and staring dreamily at the sky. For Miyako, despite the strangeness of the situation, smiled and offered a nod towards him.  
  
"You want to meet him?" She watched him nod. "Well, I can introduce him to you once class is over." She had almost forgotten that Ken joined the college soccer team before they had officially started going out. He became popular with the girls and even though these girls were ready to offer him their virginity, she knew he didn't have the heart for them, but only for her. She had no idea that Ken was also attracting male at that time. Miyako almost giggled at that thought. Ken will probably freak out about it, but he couldn't blame them, since he was a cute guy!   
  
The boy nodded. "OH! Could I, really?" He stared at her dreamily and when he noticed her nod, he almost jumped out of his seat, but it was a good thing he didn't. The sensei was already looking their way and it didn't look good.   
  
Miyako looked away from the curious crowd and continued to pretend to listen to the professor.   
  
  
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When class ended, Ken greeted his girl friend with a loving kiss on the lips. He was quite excited about the 'surprise' party and all the 'visitors' she was going to have. Miyako mentioned once or maybe twice how much she missed all her friends. Ken had actually thought about reuniting with their friends since before she mentioned it.   
  
"How was class?" he whispered in her ear.  
  
Miyako looked up and smiled. Without answering him, she turned her head towards a handsome young man, with shoulder length brown hair and walked over to him, taking his hand and pulling him towards Ken. Ken stared at the young man curiously, feeling quite jealous at the moment. He was ready to pounce at the boy, when he suddenly batted his eyes at him, making Ken nervous. He paused from where he stood and stared at the shorter boy.  
  
"Ken, I'd like you to meet, Isamu Kamisaka, a friend of mine from my Lit class." Miyako pulled the young man closer towards her and smiled. Ken glanced at the boy named Isamu and nodded, smiling as he lifted up his hand for a shake. The shorter boy returned the shake, his grin never fading from his face. He sighed deeply in his throat, making Ken feeling awkward, but since he was too polite to pull his hand rudely from the shorter boy, he kept a smile on his face and nodded, acknowledging his presence.  
  
To Ken's relief, Isamu was the first to pull his hand away from him. The boy must have realized that he was feeling uncomfortable. He turned towards Miyako and smiled. "Well, it was so nice of you to introduce me to the great Ken Ichijouji!" Isamu spoke, smiling. Ken noticed a shade of red on the boy's cheek, as Isamu waved towards them and left.   
  
Miyako waved back, smiling. "No problem! I'm glad you were able to meet him! Bye, Isamu! I'll see you again tomorrow!"  
  
Tomorrow? Ken thought. He glanced at Miyako and stared at her curiously. "Tomorrow? What's tomorrow?"  
  
Miyako turned, that same smile still glued on her face. "Well, I promised Isamu that I would help him with his Lit homework. That reminds me. I might be late tomorrow. Looks like he needs A LOT of help for this assignment. Boy, that guy misses a lot of classes!"  
  
Oh great! Ken frowned, feeling awkward. Miyako was going to be home late tomorrow. He had to find a way to get her out of the party early.   
  
"Ken?" The blue haired boy blinked and looked at Miyako, her eyes with a sudden curiosity. "Don't worry about me! I'll be back before midnight!" She went on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. She was ready to leave somewhere, when Ken's voice stopped her.  
  
"Miyako! Where are you going?"  
  
"I'm going to the library. I have to study for my lit test too you know! Raikatuji-sensei's exams are REALLY hard so I want to catch up on what I missed a few days ago and then after that I'm going straight to Kamisaka-san's place, ne?" She turned and waved her hand towards her boyfriend. "Don't wait up for me, Ken-kun!"  
  
Ken watched her go, feeling quite relieved, now that he had more time to prepare for the party tonight. The only problem was- how was he going to drag Miyako out of Kamisaka-san's place? He had to find a way. He had to find Kamisaka's number fast!  
  
  
____________________  
  
  
  
  
A few rings and Ken would've hung up by now, but he was desperate. He wanted a birthday party perfect for his girlfriend. He had come home so quickly even before Akira finally came home from her classes. Ken decided to skip his last class, since he needed more time to prepare for the party. Miyako being away from the room was the best chance he had so far. He didn't have time to prepare anything and the only thing he had prepared was the cake, which he successfully hid inside Akira's own refrigerator in her room. The streamers and the balloons were somewhere hidden inside Akira's closet. To make it short, everything for the party were all inside Akira's room. Ken drove that train of thought away from his mind and focused his attention on the rings that seemed to last forever. It took him a lot of effort to get inside Miyako's purse so he could get her address book out from the bottom. He had to catch up to her in the library and, though, it seemed immoral for him, he gave her a hug and, like a thief, quickly fished through her purse with one swoop and literally stole her address book.   
  
He was ready to hang up, when a voice finally came on the line.  
  
"Hello, Kamisaka Isamu speaking!"  
  
"Hello, Kamisaka-san?" Ken asked, twirling the chord of the phone nervously around his finger. "This is Ichijouji Ken."  
  
He heard a pause on the other line and a second later; Kamisaka came on again, his voice, shaking a little bit. "Hai, Ichijouji-san? Is there something I can help you with?"   
  
"Yes, is Miyako there?"  
  
"Hai, she's in the bathroom right now. I'll-"  
  
"No, wait!" Ken spoke, startling the unsuspecting boy. "Don't say anything that I called. I don't want her to know."  
  
"About what?"  
  
"About a surprise party for her that I'm throwing tonight for her birthday. Can you keep that secret?" Ken asked, feeling rather hopeless.  
  
Isamu nodded. "Of course I can!"  
  
"I'm actually calling to let you know that and since she's not coming home until midnight tonight to help you with homework, I need your help."  
  
Isamu nodded. "I'm listening."  
  
  
  
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Miyako walked home that night, feeling confused and annoyed by Isamu's sudden change in plans. She stayed up all night last night making up the questions for him to practice on and she took the effort to come to his house about thirty minutes walk from their college and instead of studying together, he literally kicked her out of his house. He had told her that he was getting 'sick' from the food he ate in the cafeteria and Miyako swore he didn't see his face change into a greenish colour to indicate he was ready to throw up. She crossed Sakura Hill and made a right towards Sasaki Boulevard. Miyako walked quietly straight through the quiet neighborhood and once she hit Third Avenue, she made a left turn until she reached the sign that said, Odaiba College. Her dorm room was only five minutes from where she stood. She walked across the lawn, not caring whether she could get in trouble for it, since she didn't read the sign that said, 'Don't Walk Across Lawn.' Miyako paused to yawn and stretch and that's when she finally knew that she was glad she was going home. She had no idea she was that tired.   
  
By the time she reached the building of the duple dorms, which were separated dorms from the other regular campuses that consisted of divided campuses for girls and boys, she noticed some cars parked by the entrance. Some cars were American made and some were from Japan. She was curious, however, she shook her head, changing her mind about her curiosity. She didn't care right now. She was getting really tired for some reason. Miyako took her first step, making her way towards the first room, where Akira was staying, turned and climbed up the double steps, until she reached another door. This room was the room she and Ken shared. Even though people from campuses called this building the smallest room, the duple dorms were actually the largest dorm rooms than the rest of the rooms in the divided campuses or the Co-Ed ones. She opened the door, ready to plop on the couch or on the bed where she slept, or make a bath so she could soak in the warm water. Once she opened the door, the light flicked on automatically. Miyako was startled, as six pairs of heads and a few hairy ones, popped out from out of nowhere and greeted her with a 'Happy Birthday.' The lavender haired girl paused, her eyes widened in surprise. Ken approached her, wrapping his arms around her with an embrace and whispered 'surprise' in her ear. She was still shocked by the people present in the room. As she was being held, she studied the people there, holding streamers and throwing confetti in the air. Mimi and Yamato were there, Yamato's arms around Mimi and smiling at her. Sora and Taichi were there too, so were Takeru and Hikari, Jou, Izumo, Iori and Daisuke. Ken finally let her go, so Miyako could greet her friends she has not seen for the longest time.   
  
"Miyako!" The lavender haired girl looked up and noticed Hawkmon flying in the air and landing on her shoulder to give the girl a hug. "Miyako! I missed you so much!"  
  
Tears flooded her eyes. She embraced the small bird back with so much love and compassion. She missed Hawkmon most of all. Ever since she started going to college, she had lost touch to the ones she cared the most and that someone was finally wrapped around her long arms. "Hawkmon? Is this really you?" She buried her face into the creature's feather chest and tightly, yet, gently squeezed him against her chest. "It's really you!"  
  
"Of course it's me, Miyako! I'm sorry I couldn't go to the other birthdays you had!"   
  
Miyako pulled away and looked into the bird's eyes. "Why are you sorry? I should be the one who's sorry. I was the one who stopped responding. I was too busy with homework at school that I completely forgot about you. Please forgive me, Hawkmon?"  
  
"Oh, Miyako!" Hawkmon hugged her tighter. "Of course I do!" Tears fell from his eyes.  
  
All was silent. Everyone was silent, until a voice interrupted his or her air of serenity.  
  
"Aww, come on, you guys! This is suppose to be a happy day for Miyako!" came Daisuke's voice. "She's turning eighteen! We should be celebrating, not crying!"   
  
"Daisuke!" Hikari's voice came. "Don't be inconsiderate! Give them some time to reminisce!"  
  
Daisuke closed his mouth shut.  
  
Miyako wiped her tears with her arms and let Hawkmon go. She looked around at everyone, his or her eyes trained on her. "He's right, Hikari. We SHOULD be celebrating, not crying!" She turned around to face Ken, more tears flooding her eyes. "Oh, Ken-kun! You don't know how much I love you for this!" She wrapped her arms around his arms and kissed him on the lips. He blushed when he noticed everyone watching. "You have everyone here!"  
  
"Not everyone!" Miyako and Ken turned to see where the voice came from and there, standing by the front door that they were blocking, appeared Hanako, two luggages in her hands. "Hi, Miya! I'm sorry I'm late! I had to pick up something!" She dropped her luggage beside her, disappeared for a while, and then appeared again, holding a small cage. Hanako opened the cage, revealing a small, gray and black kitten, its tail almost ready to fall off, but other than that, the kitten seemed healthy.  
  
"What is that?!" Taichi commented from behind.  
  
Sora nudged him in the arm, shushing him. Taichi grinned, sweat pouring nervously at the sides of his face.   
  
Hanako glanced behind Miyako to find a tall boy with weird looking hair. "Uh...." She placed the kitten close to her heart and gently pets its thin fur. She glanced back at Miyako and smiled. "I found this poor thing almost dying in the street. I just had to pick her up. Don't worry, she's clean and all and has been given shots. That's why I took so long to get here, because I had to pick her up from the clinic." She handed the kitten towards her friend. "Take her. She's a sweetheart. This is my birthday present for you."  
  
Miyako smiled. She took the kitten from Hanako and held it in her arms. "She's so cute, Hanako! What's her name?" Hawkmon appeared from behind her, landing on her shoulder and glancing at the odd looking creature in Miyako's arms.   
  
"Well, it is your birthday! I'd rather you name her!" Hanako paused and glanced up at Miyako's shoulder, where she noticed a weird looking bird perched there. Suddenly, the red head screamed and pointed at Hawkmon. "AH! Miyako, there's something on your shoulder! It's attacking you! AHHHH!"  
  
"Calm down, Hanako!" Miyako spoke, landing one hand on Hanako's shoulder. "Remember the Digimon I was telling you about?"  
  
"You told her about them?!" came Taichi's panicked voice.  
  
Sora nudged him again. "Why don't you be quiet, Tai-kun?"  
  
Taichi frowned. "Well, she told Hanako about the Digimon!"  
  
Miyako turned her head towards the tall boy. "There are no secrets between me and Hanako, Taichi. We tell everything about ourselves, ESPECIALLY Digimon. Akira knows too!"  
  
"WHAT?!"   
  
"That's it, Taichi! If you scream like that again, I'm not coming home with you!" Sora frowned, folding her arms across her chest. Taichi pouted, closing his mouth shut once again, who knows how long this time.  
  
"Speaking of which... where is Akira?"   
  
"I'm right here!" A voice spoke.  
  
Startled, Miyako felt the lights flicker off. From the corner of her eye, small flickers of candle lights slowly made its way to her. She could see Akira holding a white chocolate cake with two candles that formed '19' on it. Then, from out of nowhere, everyone started to sing, "Happy Birthday!" Akira slowly made her way towards the nearby table of the dining room and put the cake there. By the time the song ended, Miyako was already beside the white cake. She blew on it quickly, doing the traditional styles of making wishes once she blew out all her candles and noticed the light flicker back on, with the courtesy of Jou standing by the door with the light switch. Everyone clapped at the celebration and Miyako looked around once more to make sure EVERYONE was here. She felt Ken's arms around her waist, pulling her close to him.   
  
"Happy Birthday, Miyako," he whispered in her ear. Miyako turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck. She passionately kissed him on the lips, all the worries and anger melting away. Ken's fear and worries also faded as their lips touched with so much love. Everyone watched in awe and amazement at the loving couple embraced in a warm glow that no one could penetrate. A love that bond them together for eternity. It seemed like forever that they were staring at the two like that, until Daisuke, not Taichi, finally interrupted their wonderful moment, with a little laugh.  
  
"HAH! HAH! Ken's getting lucky!"   
  
Ken and Miyako paused and glanced at Daisuke.  
  
"Who's this guy?" Hanako whispered in Miyako's ear.  
  
Miyako rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about him. He's a friend of mine and he always acts like that."  
  
"Hm..." Hanako looked at Daisuke suspiciously. "Does he have a girlfriend?"  
  
Miyako looked at her, surprised. "What?"  
  
"Nothing... nevermind..." Hanako spoke, blushing.   
  
"Uh... Miyako?" came Hawkmon's voice. "The kitten... where the kitten go?"  
  
Miyako pulled away from Ken. "What?" She looked around. "Where did she go?" The girl glanced at Hawkmon. "Do you know where she went?"  
  
"I wouldn't be asking you if I knew."  
  
"Ah! I'm not allowed to have pets in here!" In panic, Miyako grabbed the first three people she could grab and demanded them to help her find the lost kitten somewhere in the apartment. Soon, everyone else began to search for the kitten. Ken decided he should look in his room, since it was open just a minute ago.   
  
"Why didn't you say anything that you weren't allowed to have pets?!" Ken could hear Hanako's voice.  
  
"Well, I never knew you were going to come and have a birthday surprise for me! How am I supposed to know that you were going to give me a kitten for my birthday!? Geez, that cat can move!"  
  
Cautiously, Ken moved his way to his room, closing the door slowly behind him. He didn't know why he decided to come here, when the kitten could only walk for just a few seconds until it could find a good hiding place from all the people. Maybe he came inside just to check if the letter was still there. Walking over to the side table, he opened the drawer and took out a folded piece of paper, the same folded piece of paper that he unfolded that same morning. He opened it once more and stared at it. He didn't know why, but he stared at it, and then put it back inside without another word. Before he closed the drawer, however, he stared at another object lying inside. A velvet box gleamed underneath the lamp's light. With one slow movement, Ken picked it up and studied it for a while, before finally opening it to reveal a gold, diamond ring.   
  
His heart ached. He was nervous. He wasn't sure whether this was the right time to ask her. Deciding on it, he put the ring back inside the drawer and closed it again before finally getting up from bed and leaving the room. He was startled to see Akira standing there with a curious look.  
  
"Ken, you have to tell her," Akira spoke with a motherly concerned look.  
  
Ken didn't look at her when he answered, "I will." He joined the group in the living room, where they gathered around Miyako, who was holding the kitten who was not found, leaving Akira speechless. She watched him. He just smiled and forgot all the pain he was feeling. He was willing to give up everything for her, she thought. Even his dream.  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: Has Ken finally made his decision to stay? Well, it wasn't really said now was it? It just said what Akira... THOUGHT! Hah! LOL. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this one! Sorry for making you guys wait! See ya again on the next chapter! 


	11. Aishiteru

Note: What happened to all my reviewers? Awww, I guess I can understand that you're all busy, but at least take the time to read my story for me! J/K :P Anyway, we last left off with a decision that will forever change Ken's life. Has he made his decision? Find out on this chapter!  
  
  
Chapter 11 - Aishiteru!  
  
  
  
The sunlight seemed to burn through her mind as she opened her eyes to a bright new day. Miyako groaned, putting a hand on the top of her head. She didn't remember a thing about what happened last night. All she remembered was... having fun at the party Ken set up and... getting drunk? Miyako glanced at herself. She was dressed in her rose pink pajamas and her feet were bare from the socks she wore last night. Miyako looked around warily, slowly removing the blanket from on top of her as she got up. Her feet touched the cool wooden floor of the room and she lifted herself up from the bed. Miyako glanced at the side of the bed and just as she expected, her glasses were there... her round, ugly glasses. Frowning, she picked up the glasses and placed it on her nose, then prepared to leave the room, when the door opened, startling her. She was afraid to come face to face with Ken. She was afraid to see his angry face, realizing that she had gotten drunk last night and might have done something stupid because of it. Miyako sighed. She had to face him sooner or later, instead of running away. If she had to explain everything to him, she couldn't. She didn't remember anything, except maybe drinking a whole glass of sake.  
  
"Don't get up, I'll come to you," Ken spoke, his voice interrupting her thoughts. She looked up, noticing her boyfriend step inside the room while the door slipped open slowly. Ken was carrying a glass of water in his hand, while his other palm was wide open, revealing two pills of Advil- probably for her headache. Miyako stared into her boyfriend's eyes. Nothing in them seemed to be filled with anger or hate.   
  
She laid her head back down and sighed. Miyako could hear Ken's heavy feet as he walked towards her and felt weight on the bed beside her. The lavender haired girl looked up and frowned. "Gomen, Ken. Please forgive me for being so stupid."  
  
Ken stared at her, bewildered. "Nani? What do you mean?"  
  
Miyako sat up from bed, wrapping her arms around Ken's waist, then buried her face against his chest. "If I did something stupid while I was drunk, please forgive me."  
  
Ken shook his head, his mind wandering to the time Miyako absent-mindedly looked into his bedside drawer and took out the acceptance letter from Harvard. He wasn't sure what she was doing at first when he noticed her pull out the folded letter. Ken was too late to stop her form reading it.  
  
"Ken? What's this?" Miyako had asked that night, as she turned to look at him. Miyako glanced back at the paper and read it some more and realization finally hit her. "You were accepted at Harvard and you didn't tell me?"  
  
Ken knew Miyako had been drinking, hence the glass of Shirley temple that Hanako brought from America placed on the table as Miyako entered the room and helped herself into looking inside his drawer. The blue haired boy noticed the way Miyako was standing. She was standing rather awkwardly, her body slightly moving back and forth, trying to keep her balance.   
  
"What do you think you're doing just opening my drawer like that, Miyako?" Ken was not angry. He was nervous and his nervousness turned into anger... which was his way of getting rid of his, the anxiety in his heart. He grabbed the paper from her hand and stuffed it inside his back pocket without folding it back, closed the door and looked at her.   
  
"Why didn't you tell me, you jerk?!" At that point, Ken wanted to feel nothing as Miyako lifted an arm and slapped him across the face, but the slap stung him, his cheeks reddened form the angry blow inflicted upon him. Ken said nothing, rather angry with himself for not telling Miyako in the first place and having her to find out while she was drunk. "Why don't you just leave?! That's what everybody's doing! They ALL want to leave Miyako Inoue, because she's so annoying!" Miyako walked pass him, but not before Ken grabbed her arm to stop her from walking away. "NO! Let me go!"  
  
Ken pulled her for an embrace, forcing her against him. "Miyako, please let me explain," he whispered in her ear. "Let's talk about this when everyone's gone."   
  
"Why are you wasting your time talking to me? You have Harvard to go to!" Miyako angrily pushed him as hard as she could and stared at him with tears in her eyes. "You love Harvard more than you love me!"  
  
"That's not true, Miya..." Ken stepped forward, but Miyako had already opened the door, ready to leave the room. "Miyako..."  
  
Miyako paused by the doorway. Eyes looked their way as Miyako turned to face Ken again, tears now running down her cheeks. Everyone had heard everything, but no one dared to interfere, except for the two girls who were standing right across the room. "I hate you, Ken Ichijouji..." For that, Miyako turned and left the apartment, leaving Ken stunned and hurt from her words.  
"Ken-kun? Are you all right?" Miyako lifted her head from his chest and looked into his eyes. She wanted him to tell her how he felt, wanted him to tell the whole truth about what she did the other night. She noticed Ken's hesitant look as he smiled and nodded.  
  
"I'm fine. Here's the pill for your headache. I'm sure you want to get rid of it before English starts tomorrow." He wanted to know in her eyes if she remembered. Ken held out the pills to her and Miyako took it as slowly as she could, and then swallowed it whole, followed by the glass of water Ken provided for her.   
  
When she was finished, Miyako grabbed hold of Ken's arm and frowned. She could tell whether Ken was lying or not. The change in his eyes gave away the answer to it all. "Ken, why are you lying to me?"  
  
Ken looked at her. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"I did something stupid, didn't I?" She waited until he nodded his head, but he didn't. Angrily, Miyako slammed a hand hard on the bed and glared at him. "Tell me, Ken!"  
  
Ken stood up and frowned. "Miyako, if I tell you now, you don't ever want to see me again." Before he could leave the room, Ken noticed Akira and Hanako standing by the doorway, frowning.   
  
"Ken, you have to start telling her, before both of us do," Akira spoke.  
  
Miyako glanced at the two curiously, watching as Akira and Hanako stepped inside the room, trapping Ken. Hanako closed the door behind them and glanced at her best friend, before turning her attention towards the tall boy.   
  
"You told her?" Ken spoke, his eyes blazing with shock at the red head.  
  
"I had no other choice. She is the only one who can help me to get you talking," Akira replied.   
  
"Start telling the truth, Ken! Remind her of what happened last night."  
  
"So you do know what happened!" Miyako spoke, standing up slowly from bed. She placed a hand on Ken's shoulder and cautiously turned him around. Ken glanced down on her, closing his eyes sadly. Miyako could not stand Ken's sad look. She wrapped her arms around his waist and sighed, burying her face to smell her favourite cologne that he wore everyday. "Ken... please tell me. Why did you say that I wouldn't want to see you again if you told me?"  
  
"Because I have been accepted to Harvard, Miyako, do you remember that? Do you remember reading a letter from the drawer you opened? I tried explaining to you, but you just shoved me away and ran out. You told me you hated me..." Ken gently pushed Miyako off of him and turned his face away from her. "I wanted to explain to you... I did, but you didn't want to listen. You didn't want to know the truth. You thought I would leave you... But do you even know the answer I gave them Miyako? Read this." Ken fished inside his coat pocket and took out a new envelope, then handed it for Miyako to open.  
  
Miyako said nothing as she took the letter from his hand and opened it. Indeed, inside was a letter from Harvard's campus dean, neatly and formally typed on thick paper and sighed by the owner of the campus. It said:  
  
Dear Mr. Ichijouji,  
  
We are sorry to hear that you will not be able to attend Harvard. We know it must be a tough transfer from Japan to America, for it would be hard to leave your family. However, if you do change your mind, we will reserve a seat for you in the school until the end of September so that you can join us. Thank you for your honesty.   
  
  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Donovan Clydesdale  
  
Harvard School Board Donovan Clydesdale  
  
  
  
  
Miyako stared at the paper, her eyes watering with despair and utmost disappointment. Ken did this for her. He rejected Harvard so he could stay with her. Why? She looked up, her eyes watery from crying and shook her head. "No. You can't reject them. Write them back, Ken. Write them back and say that you will go to this school. You've always wanted to go to Harvard." She looked down in sadness.  
  
Ken shook his head. "It's too late, I've already made my decision, despite what they say about reserving a seat for me. Miyako... I love you... When Hanako left, I felt I didn't have the right to tell you about Harvard right after she boarded that plane and left your life for good. I thought that if I stayed, you wouldn't be sad anymore." He took a step forward, then placed a hand under her chin to life her face up so he could see her face. "You know how much I hate it when you're sad."  
  
The lavender haired girls sniffed, cried his name, and then collapsed in his arms to cry some more. "Baka! Why?! This was your chance to be in Harvard. Why would you choose me over the one thing you've always cared for the most?"  
  
"Because the only one that I care for the most is right here in Japan." He wrapped his arms around her tightly and a single tear fell down his cheek.  
  
Akira and Hanako watched as the two became wrapped up in each other's arms. Tears also streamed down their faces as they stepped out of the room to leave them alone and closed the door. Hanako turned to Akira and frowned.  
  
"I wish I had a boyfriend like him," Hanako spoke, sniffling.  
  
  
  
  
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Miyako sighed, as she listened to her English professor make a lecture about the poetic form of an American poet's story. 'Ballad? Limerick?' she thought in her head. Right now, it didn't matter. She was thinking about yesterday, how Ken sacrificed his career in Harvard to be with her. No matter how happy she was, she couldn't help but feel miserable about it. She knew how it meant so much for him to be in Harvard. He once mentioned to her that his older brother, Osamu always wanted to go to Harvard, but didn't have enough money to go there. Miyako's heart lurched. She was beginning to feel like she was the evil person here, keeping the good guy from accomplishing his goal.  
  
"Inoue-san? Did you hear what I said?" It took a moment for Miyako to actually listen, until someone's elbow gently brought her back into the world. She glanced towards one of her friends and then at her sensei, his eyes looking annoyed.  
  
"Uh... hai..." Miyako gulped, his eyes still tattooed on her face.   
  
"Then, could you please repeat it to me," the man spoke, folding his arms across his chest.   
  
Miyako said nothing and as she was about to say something else, her sensei broke eye contact and sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. "Honestly, Miyako, could you please pay a little bit more attention? Just because your birthday was last night and had a party, doesn't mean you should neglect your homework." He glanced over his shoulder and smiled. "Next time, please pay attention."  
  
The lavender haired girl nodded. Despite her sensei's words to listen, her mind was somewhere else, still placed upon Ken and his decision. "Aishiteru, Ken-kun..." she whispered to softly that none of her friends sitting beside her could hear.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: Wow! Have you guys been waiting THAT long?! I'm sorry! I've been busy! Thanx for all your reviews tho! 


	12. The Never Ending Story

Note: Hey everyone, almost done with this story! Thank you for all the reviews! Final chapter!!!!!!!!!!!!!   
  
  
Chapter 12 - The Never Ending Story  
  
  
"Miyako-chan?" Miyako turned her head and sighed, a head peeking out from behind the television. She could see the feather sticking out, making her see him as he moved his head from side to side. His eyes searched her for a second and he beak slightly turned to the side for a smile. Hawkmon was trying to make her smile, but it wasn't working.   
  
Miyako sat up from bed and frowned, turning her head towards him. "I don't know what to do, Hawkmon. I don't want to lose him..."   
  
The bird Digimon flew towards her and landed on the bed near her legs. For years, he waited to meet her again, expecting the same, cheerful Miyako who always made him laugh. But... this was not the Miyako he remembered. Miyako was at the age where love and relationships mattered the most. He wanted to say something meaningful, but Hawkmon didn't understand anything about human emotions, except the fact that they all cried over small things and were quick at being depressed. Sometimes he understood her, but sometimes... he did not get her at all. With one wing, he placed a hand on her lap and smiled his best smile. "What do you believe you should do, Miyako? Would you rather lose him for his happiness or make him stay so you will happy? What matters to you the most?"  
  
Miyako thought for a moment. She wanted to be happy. All her life, she wished for someone who would love her in return- a guy who would notice her and finally Ken had come. Even after school when they were in high school, she would come to his school and watch him play soccer. Her eyes would travel to where he ran and to where he scored, never taking her eyes off of him. Sometimes she scared herself by doing it, thinking what a moron she was to be obsessing over a guy whom, she knows, will probably ignore her. When she found out Ken was the Digimon Kaiser, she gave it all up, because at that point, she didn't believe her love could last anymore. She had to give her love for him then, so why should she do it now? Is it selfish to love someone and not let them go? Is it selfish to take the happiness in their lives so you can be happy? Miyako sighed, plopping herself back on the bed. She didn't want to think anymore. She needed to finish studying and sleep early so she can get a fresh start tomorrow for the Math exam. She closed her eyes and smiled, thinking of the time she and Ken met for the first time after the incident with Owikawa.   
  
"Miya-chan?" Hawkmon called softly, leaning his head to look at her face closely. She had fallen asleep. Smiling gently, Hawkmon grabbed the ends of the blanket, having to lift both her legs to do it and placed it over top her small form. Strange how humans think, he thought, taking a seat on the other side of the bed. He watched her for a while, before sleep overcame him.  
  
  
  
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She wanted him to be happy. Was she really selfish to think otherwise? Hanako laid on the couch, thinking about the relationship between Miyako and Ken. Glancing towards another person sitting on another chair to her right, sighing. The girl looked up with a sad expression, obviously worried about Ken and Miyako as well. The red head sat up and moved so that she was sitting on the couch. She leaned back and took a giant breath.  
  
"Shouldn't we do something?" Hanako spoke, looking up at Akira.  
  
Akira shook her head. "We shouldn't interfere. It's Ken's choice, now it's up to Miyako to make the decision on their relationship." She picked up the glass of water from the table in front of her and sipped it until she could see the bottom and put it back down. She was glad Ken was staying, but the decision he made, in her opinion was a mistake. He could have gone to Harvard and could have gotten a good job there after graduation. Then after that, he could come back and if he's ready... marry Miyako and they could have a good life in America. But, what did she know? She wasn't their mother. If Ken decided on staying, then so be it.   
  
Hanako hung her head, thinking of the days that Miyako was happy. She has never seen her as happy as she was now, being with Ken and all. Miyako was always depressed about certain things, even though she would smile, but underneath it, she was breaking inside. Ken broke that barrier and made her REALLY happy with everything in her life. She couldn't blame Miyako for wanting Ken to stay instead of going off to America to study. She would have done the same thing if it happened to her- that is... if she ever HAS a decent boyfriend. "You're right," she replied finally, after a few seconds. "We should let them handle it now."  
  
Both thought for a moment as they sat silently on their seats.  
  
After a few more minutes, Akira finally spoke up. "Well, there's no point in thinking about it now. I have to go to work anyway." She glanced at her watch. "If I don't leave now, I'm going to be late and my boss will kill me."  
  
"Isn't this the third time you were ALMOST late?" Hanako asked, looking up as Akira walked pass her.  
  
Akira just shrugged while she opened the door to her room. She paused by the doorway and glanced at her. "Hai," she replied, winking and closing the door behind her.  
  
Hanako rolled her eyes. She stood up, stretched and sat back down lazily on the couch. "Well, good thing I don't have work then," she said to herself. Her mind drifted back to Miyako and her smile. Her smile towards Ken was the most wonderful thing she ever did see. For the eighteen years in her life, all she has ever done was pretend she was happy, but with her parents' divorce and the death of her little sister, she couldn't really smile for the sake of others. The red headed girl drifted off to sleep the moment she thought of her little sister, Kasumi and by the time she fell asleep, Akira left the room and out of the apartment fast or her boss will fire her for good if she doesn't show up soon.  
  
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Miyako stretched and yawned. She glanced at her bedside clock, surprised at how much sleep she had. She was THAT tired. Looking to her left, she found Hawkmon snuggled up beside her, his head just resting against her back and his wings curled in front of him. Miyako watched him for a moment, before finally sitting up from bed, disturbing Hawkmon's peaceful slumber. He woke up with tired eyes, even though he slept at the same time as her and rubbed his wings over his eyes. He stretched for a moment, before his eyes fully opened to a new day. He glanced at her watch... it was half pass six in the morning! He looked up and found Miyako looking at him with a smile.  
  
"Ohayo, Hawkmon-chan!" she spoke, getting up from bed. She left the room and into the bathroom to brush up. She had an hour until her exam so she decided to take her time.   
  
"Did you have a good sleep?" he called through the door of the bathroom.   
  
"HAI!" Miyako replied. She picked up her toothbrush, filled it with toothpaste and began brushing, humming a tune from J-pop- one that reminded her of the time she and Ken spent the summer together in China, where he treated her like a Queen and she a King. It was a magnificent balance between two lovers. She often wondered where he got the money... She paused, her arm stopping in midair during brushing. Her thoughts landed on him going to Harvard where he could get a good career, a good payable job for him to be happy in. Is she stopping him from what he wanted the most? Is she stopping him from what Osamu wanted from Ken the most?   
  
You're a terrible person, Miyako, a voice spoke in her head.   
  
She shook her head, shaking the voice from her mind and continued brushing. Once finished, she spit the content from her mouth and turned on the tap, and then scooped some water in her hands and filled it inside her mouth where she began gurgling. After a couple of seconds, she spit the used water out and put the toothbrush back inside the clean container, when Ken's voice bounced back in her head.   
  
"It's too late, I've already made my decision, despite what they say about reserving a seat for me. Miyako... I love you... When Hanako left, I felt I didn't have the right to tell you about Harvard right after she boarded that plane and left your life for good. I thought that if I stayed, you wouldn't be sad anymore."  
  
So that SHE wasn't going to be sad anymore? Miyako grabbed her towel from the towel rack, took off her clothes from head to toe and drew the curtains of her shower stall, then stepped inside.   
  
"...I thought that if I stated, you wouldn't be said anymore."  
  
"...YOU wouldn't be sad anymore."  
  
She turned on the hot and cold water on the tap, waiting until it was the right temperature and turned on the shower. The warm water touched her bearskin and it felt good to be feeling refreshed after a tired day yesterday. She thought of Ken and her kind smile. Why was he so kind to her? Why did he love her so much? He could have any girl, but why her? He did everything to her and look what she was doing to him... She heard a door open and it took her a moment to realize that it was Ken, visiting her. Why can't she see a sad face on him? He cared too much for her sadness instead of his. She was too blind to see that Ken was in pain, but he was too good to show it. Miyako could hear Ken enter the room, his deep voice booming as Hawkmon talked to him.  
  
"I brought something for you, Hawkmon," Ken said as Miyako listened.  
  
"Ooh! Nani?" Hawkmon asked. She can imagine her little Digimon friend taking a peek inside one of the bags that Ken usually brings for her to eat for breakfast. Hawkmon would find something edible and starts chewing it inside the bag instead of outside where he could breathe. That thought made her laugh. Her Digimon never took the time to take the food out of the bag, because his long beak did the job as a straw.  
  
Other than Ken and Hawkmon's voice, he could Wormon's voice as well, his soft, kind voice speaking to her bird friend in an annoying monotone. "Hawkmon, Ken said he bought two meat buns for each of us. Don't eat the other one too!" She heard a scuffle for a moment, then complete silence. She was not sure, because the water from the shower tapped too loud against the bathtub for her to hear something as soft as quietness.  
  
He did it for her, but what about him? Hasn't he done something to make himself happy other than making HER happy?   
  
Quickly, she washed her face, shampooed her hair, soaped her skin, and then turned off the water. She opened the curtain, then out of the shower stall, reaching for her bathrobe hanging behind the door. She put that one and wrapped her towel around the thickness of her lavender hair, like a turban. With that done, she stepped out of the bathroom and was surprised at how much food Ken prepared for breakfast on the table in one second flat after she heard the scuffle.   
  
Ken looked up from his work and smiled. "Ohayo, Miyako!" He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her, smelling the shampoo through the towel protecting her long, lavender hair. "You smell really good."  
  
Miyako smiled, feeling the warmth of Ken's arms around her. Her smile faded, when she realized something that she had to do. No matter how much it hurts, she'll have to do it now. Gently withdrawing herself from Ken's arms, she looked up into his eyes. "Ken-kun..." She took his hand and sat him down on one of the dining room chairs.   
  
"Nani, Miyako?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows curiously.  
  
Miyako took a deep breath. Tears began to form in her eyes, but she had to be strong, for her sake and for Ken's sake. She needed to show she was going to be strong without him from now on so that he didn't have to worry. "Ken-kun, you have to go to Harvard," she said.  
  
Ken looked at her. He couldn't believe his ears. Is this Miyako talking? "What are you talking about, Miyako? I already made my decision to stay here." He reached for her hand, but Miyako just jerked her hand away as she stood up suddenly.   
  
"Iiee, Ken-kun! You have to take that spot in Harvard. Osamu wanted you to go there!" She turned her face away from him, chocking back the tears that threatened to fall. She was being selfish now.  
  
"What does Osamu have to do with this?" Ken spoke, standing up.  
  
Miyako looked back at him, forcing her tears to finally fall from her eyes. Concerned, Ken walked to her, but Miyako just turned her whole body around away from him. "Stop being so blind, Ken! I know how much you wanted to go to Harvard to make Osamu happy and yourself happy. I know how much Harvard means to you. I'm the reason why you're not happy."  
  
"What makes you believe that I'm not happy? I'm happy being here with you." He began to reach out to her once again, but not before Miyako stepped back from him once more, shaking her head to his response.  
  
"No you're not. You're being forced to be happy so that I wouldn't have to worry so much about you. Is that what you want, Ken? You want me to be happy instead of you? Why? I want you to be happy too."  
  
"Miyako-"  
  
"No!" she said, interrupting Ken. She took a deep breath. She knew she was being harsh on him, but there was no other choice. If she forgets him, then maybe he can move on with his life and it was the only way for him to be happy for once. "I don't want you to be stuck here with me, just because I don't want you to leave. Ken, I want you to take that place in Harvard. It hurts me to see you this way, pretending that you didn't want to go to Harvard, but I know you better than that. You wanted to go in the first place, that's why you were hesitant to tell me because you knew it would hurt me if I ever found out if you said yes to the letter. Ken..."  
  
"Miyako, stop being hard now..."  
  
"No! Please, Ken... I love you and the best I can do to show you that is... to let you go..."  
  
Ken was struck by her words. "Nani?" He stepped in front of her, his eyes full of pain by her words. She didn't mean that, he thought. She didn't mean what he thought she said. Breakup?  
  
"What are you saying, Miyako? That we shouldn't be together?"  
  
Miyako finally looked up to meet his soft eyes. "That's exactly what I'm saying. It's better than having a long distance relationship. You will find someone else, so..." She turned away from him. "Just go."  
  
Ken wanted to reach out to her, that he meant to stay here for her, not because he was forced to. He wanted to stay with her, but why was she saying this? Why breakup? What's the point when he'll end up staying here anyway? "Miyako, you don't know what you're talking about." In truth, he wanted to go to Harvard, but Miyako was much more important to him than paper and pencil. He placed a hand on her shoulder, but Miyako just jerked her body away form him, to keep her face away from him.  
  
"Yes, I do. I think this is the best for us. It would be hard for us to keep a long distance relationship. We'll eventually find someone else in the end." She paused, trying as hard as she could to keep her eyes away from him. From the corner of her eyes, he could see Ken's solemn, sad eyes... a face that Miyako hated on him. Before she gave him a chance, Miyako walked to the door and opened it, stepping aside to give him room to leave. Bravely, she looked into his eyes, and then opened her mouth to speak. "Please leave," she spoke.  
  
"Nani? Miyako-san?" Wormmon spoke, glancing at Ken. What was going on? Was there something he didn't understand? Why was he crying? He glanced back at Miyako... tears were also clouding in her eyes.  
  
Hawkmon flew on Miyako, staring down on Wormmon. "Daijobou, Wormmon."  
  
Wormmon looked up and frowned, still confused about what was happening between the two people he cared for the most. With one, small hand, he poked Ken's leg gently and looked up, but Ken was too caught up with what Miyako had said, that he did not have time to look down and check up on his Digimon friend.  
  
"Miyako..." Ken started, but Miyako had already gestured with her hand for him to leave before Ken had a chance to stop her from making her decision. Giving up, Ken, followed by Wormmon, silently walked out of the room, glancing one more time, before Miyako shut the door in front of his face. He stood there for a moment, staring at the door and with one, slow movement, he placed a hand on the wooden object that stood between him and Miyako and rested his forehead on the cold wood. "Miyako...Aishiteru... Please remember that. If you want me to go to Harvard, fine... I'll go...but only for you. You hear me, Miyako? Only for you! When I'm done schooling, I promise to come back to you. I promise not to find someone else. Please don't find anyone else. Please don't replace me while I'm gone. Remember... I will always love you, Miyako. Always..." When he didn't hear her answer, Ken picked up Wormmon and left the hallway empty.  
  
  
  
  
  
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Miyako slid down the door, her back against it, staring particularly at nothing. Worried, Hawkmon placed a gentle wing on her lap and looked at her. He called her name, but she did not answer back. Tears fell from her eyes, landing softly on the hardwood floor. Her heart felt like a thousand needles pinched through every area of it, then slowly falls on a puddle full of tears. Miyako felt her butt land on the floor silently and all she could hear was... nothing... She couldn't hear anything. She couldn't hear Ken's laugh, the laugh she always loved to hear. She couldn't hear his footsteps around the living room as he prepared breakfast, while she took a shower in the morning. Silently, she lifted her arms up, buried her face in her hands and wept like she has never wept before.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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"Are you sure you're leaving?" Hanako glanced over Akira's shoulder and was shocked to see Ken packing his clothes in his large brief case. Another suitcase was on the floor, now zipped up tight and Hanako guessed there was more stuff he had to bring.  
  
Akira gave Hanako a strange look, as Ken glanced over his shoulder, stopped packing for a few seconds, and then nodded his answer. "She wants me out of here, so I will. She wants me to go to school in Harvard, so I will and by the time I'm done, I'm going to ask her to marry me."  
  
Akira and Hanako both gave a surprise gasp.   
  
"Nani?" Akira asked, who couldn't believe what she was hearing. This is the Ken she knew and loved? The one who never made any stupid mistakes?  
  
Ken zipped up his bag after the final item was put in and sighed, turning around to face the two older girls. "Yes, marry her." He raised a hand to stop Akira from speaking. "I know Akira that I'm too young, but I want to spend the rest of my life with her. When I'm done schooling in Harvard, I'm coming back here and ask her to marry me so we can be together forever."  
  
Akira shook her head, folding her arms across her chest. "Well, it's your decision, so I can't do anything about it."  
  
Ken nodded, picking up the suitcase with one hand and the other with his right hand. He carried both of them out into the living room area and paused just by the counter to fetch some food from the fridge during the trip. The two girls watched him as he prepared to leave, packing the rest of the good food he planned on eating in a plastic bag.   
  
Hanako stepped in beside him as he searched for some more food, her eyes staring at him intently. "Ken, you do know that if you leave, it will hurt Miyako? You do know that she'll find someone else one day? And you'll find someone else?"  
  
Ken glanced over his shoulder at her, giving him her serious look. "Of course I know that, but Hanako..." He took a deep breath, standing up with Hanako's head almost reaching his chest in length. "I love her and I promise to be faithful to her and that's why you're here." He placed a single hand on Hanako's shoulder.  
  
The red head glanced at him strangely, frowning. Was he serious? Without answering, Hanako closed her eyes and turned away from him, walking back to where Akira stood... just behind the couch. Ken watched her move, his words, surprised even by himself. Hanako folded her arms across her chest and looked out the window, thinking about what Miyako was doing now. "I will promise to be there for her, but I can't stop her if she finds someone else."  
  
"That's fair," Ken spoke, giving a slight nod. He understood that. Even though Hanako mothered Miyako like her little sister, she would never dare interfere in Miyako's life and would do anything to protect her and comfort her. Hanako has always been there for her, even longer than Miyako has ever been with their Digimon friends.   
  
Beep! Beep!   
  
"Well, that's my taxi," Ken spoke, a little hesitant to leave Miyako all alone in her room. He glanced towards the door that led to Miyako and frowned, picking up both his suitcases.  
  
"It's going to be okay, Ken-kun," Akira spoke, wrapping her arms around his taller frame. "I will make sure she doesn't get hurt by any of the ones that date her..."  
  
Satisfied, Ken nodded, gave Hanako a hug and then opened the door to the hallway. Many students were running about and he could hear the roaring music of hip-hop next door. He wasn't going to miss anything that much about their school, but he was going to miss the way Miyako ran back and forth to make Ken and other people laugh and the way she would tip toe in her pajamas from her dorm to sneak in his bedroom to see him. Ken loved it when Miyako would go to his room in the middle of the night, then lying down on the bed beside him, curled up warmly against his body. Ken remembered Miyako having an argument with one of her neighbors, telling hem to turn the volume down and when they never listened, Miyako would get more aggressive and it made Ken laugh. One thing he was going to miss was her outgoing personality, her kindness to others, her aggression or decisive actions and her smile. Her smile was the most important thing he will always miss. He walked down the hallway, followed by Akira and Hanako and out the door to where a taxi was waiting for him. The taxi driver had got out to help him with the luggage, opening the back with his keys, and then putting them inside. Once finished, the driver went back inside and waited patiently as Ken turned around to give Akira and Hanako a final hug and not before looking towards the window of the room Miyako was in.   
  
"I'll tell her you love her," Hanako spoke, giving a sign of respect for Miyako's only love. It was a good thing that Hanako decided to stay longer so she could comfort Miya during her rough times while Ken was gone for school.   
  
Ken thanked her softly, then slowly made his way inside the back seat of the taxi. He glanced back at the same window and sighed. He promised himself that once he came back from Harvard, he was going to ask Miyako to marry him.  
  
"Let's go," Ken said to the driver.  
  
The driver pulled from the driveway and drove away from the only place Ken has grown to love, leaving the only person he will only love and leaving behind where memories will always stick in his heart.  
  
  
  
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Miyako glanced out the window, watching as Ken stepped into the sunlight. She tried her hardest not to cry. She had to be strong for him and for herself. Ken will only be gone for a year and then he can come back again next summer and they can spend that whole time being together...so why does she feel like something bad was going to happen? Clutching a piece of paper close to her heart, Miyako plopped on her bed and sighed, closing her eyes in despair, the words in the letter hanging over her head like a dark cloud.  
  
Dear Ms. Inoue,  
  
We regret to inform you that you have not been accepted to Harvard, due to the lack of references in your application and to the less remaining seats in the courses you wish to attend. Your students fees and you registration are much too late to be brought in now, since it is a month until class starts. Thank you very much for your effort.   
  
  
  
Harvard School Board  
  
  
  
Angrily, she crumpled the piece of paper in her hands and threw it towards the garbage can located near the door, where it landed safely inside with a slight swish! She couldn't believe it! Not qualified?! No wonder she never wanted to go to Harvard. The school was strict on everything they ask for! With a frown on her face, Miyako closed her eyes and let the tears fall on her face as she heard the car pull away from the driveway. Ken...she thought. I'll see you again and I promise not to find someone else.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
GoodGurl: Awww, the end! Don't worry a sequel WILL be made! See ya there! Thank you for all who reviewed this! You all made this a successful fic! Woohoo! I love you all! 


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